Schools

Capita set to oversee flexible working programme

Private firm understood to be preferred bidder ahead of schools that have run a similar scheme for 18 months

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth
Exams

BTECs cull: Ministers accused of reneging on promise

Cross-party group of peers led by Lord Blunkett has vowed to confront Gillian Keegan on the issue

Billy Camden
Billy Camden
Politics

Progress on white paper ‘parent pledge’ goes backwards

Schools are now less ready to meet the ‘vague’ expectations than they were last year, data suggests

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Ofsted

The broken link between exam results and Ofsted ratings

Schools Week analyses the relationship between Progress 8 scores and inspectors’ ratings

Amy Walker
Amy Walker
Schools

No ‘strong evidence’ of retention boost from teacher student loan forgiveness

Pilot that reimburses teachers their tuition fee repayments had ‘subtle’ influence on career choices

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Politics

Labour pledges end to ‘needless micro-management of schools’

Shadow education secretary says she’ll ‘trust’ leaders to know when their schools need help

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker


Schools

Flexible working costs ‘hinder’ schools, DfE study finds

While school leaders believe benefits of flexible working do outweigh costs, some express concern on short-term finances

Samantha Booth
Samantha Booth
Ofsted

7 things you need to know about Ofsted’s thematic reviews of AP

Ofsted will not make judgments about AP from thematic reviews, but serious concerns could lead to further inspection

Amy Walker
Amy Walker
Teacher training

Just 1 in 5 free NPQ places taken up so far

Providers point to ‘challenges’ caused by Covid-19, confusion and overlaps with other qualifications

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Academies

Ministers will miss 2030 MAT target, report warns

An NFER report warns white paper vision would need conversions at ‘unprecedented’ speed, threatening standards

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Politics

‘Don’t pressure staff to cross picket lines’, unions tell members

Two unions issue joint statement to avoid tensions between members over impending walkouts

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Politics

Teacher strikes: NAHT will re-ballot members, Whiteman pledges

Leader says union will ‘test members’ views again when talks conclude or break down’

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker