Academies

Oasis gives up Isle of Sheppey academy where most pupils absent

School with four below-‘good’ ratings in a row will become the first to ever leave England’s sixth-largest trust

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Teacher strikes

NEU suspends strike in Wales following 6.5% pay offer

Welsh government’s offer, which also includes a 1.5% one-off payment, puts Keegan under further pressure to avert strikes

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Schools

Prevent review: Schools need ‘independent’ monitoring and better training

Shawcross review of counter-extremism duty warns of ‘ambiguity’ of how schools’ compliance is monitored

Amy Walker
Amy Walker
Teacher strikes

DfE and Ofsted staff will strike again on budget day

Walk-out by PCS union members on March 15 will also coincide with the next national teachers’ strike

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth
Academies

Academy trusts expect to raid reserves despite ‘significant’ surpluses

Accountants’ report warns trusts face ‘uncertainty’ as costs far outstrip schools’ income

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth
Schools

Evidence not needed for short mental health absence, says DfE

Government says GPs are ‘unlikely to be able to offer such evidence to support one-off absences related to mental…

Amy Walker
Amy Walker


Teacher strikes

Strike-day attendance just 10% among some year groups

Analysis also shows poorer pupils were less likely to be in school, and academies were less likely to close

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Teacher training

Teach First loses £2m bonuses after ‘inadequate’ recruitment

DfE officials noted this year had been ‘challenging’, with the government missing its own targets

Amy Walker
Amy Walker
Schools

HPV inoculation rates lag behind pre-Covid levels

Data shows take-up rates are 18 percentage points lower for year 8 girls than before the pandemic

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth
Schools

Bucks’ support staff pay rise falls way behind national deal

Council offers staff a rise of just 2%, when the national deal was 10.5% for lowest earners and 4%…

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Academies

Academy CEO pay crackdown to focus on ‘outliers’

DfE used to focus on those earning over £150k, but a new approach has been signalled

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Academies

Free schools: DfE loses millions on unused sites

Government also spent £10.9 million on upkeep, such as security, maintenance and utility bills, on the empty sites

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth