Oxford School of Thought

An independent
education think tank

We generate and support research in education, we publish, we help to develop opinions, we advise on policy.

We think about education.

The Oxford School of Thought is a primary education think tank – the first of its kind in the UK. We regard learning as a continuum, and we recognise the powerful and enduring influence of primary education across a lifetime of learning.

We are a group of dedicated educators and experts from all phases from early years to the University of the 3rd Age.

We aim to improve the practice of all educators, examine the impact on and relationship with other phases of education and explore the generation of new ideas through rigorous research, analysis and opinion. Through these activities we help to better inform the public, improve education for children and hold policy- and decision-makers to account.

Recent Blog Posts

Inspect Primaries Separately

6 Years Online

A new Code of Conduct for Ofsted

5 LESSONS FROM 5 YEARS IN KOREA

Tim Brighouse Obituary – “He made us proud to be teachers”

Reflections on the death of Ruth Perry

There is the nature of Ofsted and what happens to some inspectors who are given such power when inspecting schools.

There is the isolation that heads in particular can feel, not only during an inspection but in their daily working lives.

Learning to live in sustainable manner

Many councils across the UK, including Brighton and Hove, declared a climate emergency in 2019.

Uniquely, Brighton and Hove had the commitment and vision to see that education is the key to us finding the solutions to address this emergency.

Problems for children starting school? No surprises here!

Teacher Agency

This Blog by Bridget Knight describes the ways in which Teachers skills are being eroded and what can be done to reassert the values of education.

Music Hubs

An explanation of the structure, expectations and value of the Music Hubs described in our recent Out of the Box Newsletter.

Music can be the beat and rhythm which helps drive so much of learning. The concern is that music education in English primary schools is in peril.

Re:Thinking Education

There needs to be a significant shift in thinking about the purpose of education. One that recognises that no phase exists in isolation, from early years to higher education, and is the concern of all educators; and that learning can be a continuous and exciting engagement between pupils and their curriculum.

Read Re:Thoughts

Ready to Re:Think?

A bold series of big ideas, captured in our studio sessions, outlining a vision of the future in education. Re:Thinking the way we capture and spread inspiring new concepts for and around education. There is an opportunity for the vast majority of those involved in education (specifically schooling) as well as those outside the field. Shifting from diktats handed down from governments to a system designed around those who are being educated.

Let's Go

““What do we want a new vision of education to be?
…a system that places an emphasis on a construction of knowledge, rather than the instruction of knowledge we experience in our data-driven classrooms.”

— Dr Rachel Payne, Oxford Brookes University, 2020

An independent education think tank

We generate and support research in education, we publish, we help to develop opinions, we advise on policy.

We think about education.

Re:Thinking Education

Ready to Re:Think?

““What do we want a new vision of education to be? …a system that places an emphasis on a construction of knowledge, rather than the instruction of knowledge we experience in our data-driven classrooms.”

Let’s change the way we think about and determine education for the future.

An independent
education think tank

““What do we want a new vision of education to be?
…a system that places an emphasis on a construction of knowledge, rather than the instruction of knowledge we experience in our data-driven classrooms.”