Alix Robertson | Schools Week

Marine Academy Plymouth faces moving to new trust

A Plymouth-based academy specialising in marine science and engineering has been warned that it may have its funding terminated and be transferred to another trust, as a result of “serious weaknesses”. Marine Academy Plymouth was plunged into special measures in November last year, with inspectors noting that “leaders had failed to halt a decline in […]

Norwich’s Engage Multi-Academy Trust hit with financial notice to improve

A Norwich-based multi-academy trust has been issued with a financial notice to improve by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, after it failed to adequately boost its “weak” financial situation. The ESFA has been monitoring the Engage Multi-Academy Trust, which runs nine schools, since last September, but now it has requested that members of the […]

Teach First’s LGBT intake almost doubles

The percentage of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people signing up to train with the education charity Teach First has almost doubled in the last three years. The proportion of new teachers training with the charity who identify as LGBT has increased from five per cent of those who started in classrooms in 2014 to nine per […]

EEF: Calculators do not limit learning in maths

Using calculators in maths lessons doesn’t erode pupils’ skills and may actually make them better at problem solving, according to new research from the Education Endowment Foundation. The report on ‘Improving mathematics in key stages 2 and 3’ found that calculators do not hinder the development of pupils’ arithmetic abilities, and has a positive impact […]

Researcher: A private tutoring tax ‘would level grammar school playing field’

A leading education researcher wants a new tax on private tutoring services, to help “level the playing field” for lower-income pupils trying to get into grammar schools. Such a tax would be particularly vital to counteract parents who use private tutors to “coach” children for the 11-plus entrance test, said Professor John Jerrim of the […]

Nine in 10 heads are headed for an ‘unmanageable’ budget deficit

More than 90 per cent of headteachers expect their schools to rack up an unmanageable budget deficit in the near future, a poll has revealed. Twenty-one per cent of the 589 heads who responded to a survey by the school leaders’ union NAHT said their school was already in deficit this year, an increase of […]

Teachers are ‘happy with pay’ despite real-terms drop

Most teachers remain happy with their income, despite a real-terms drop in pay and longer working hours in recent years, new research has found. A new report by the National Foundation for Educational Research found 79 per cent of teachers said they were satisfied with their income in 2015-16, even though teachers’ average hourly pay has […]

Two charities to run breakfast clubs in 1,775 schools from the spring

Two charities, Family Action and Magic Breakfast, have been chosen to deliver breakfast clubs in around 1,775 schools from this spring. The two organisations will split £26 million in government funding raised by the so-called “sugar tax” on soft drinks, and will operate in the most deprived areas of the country, including the government’s opportunity areas. […]

Teachers reduce hours and pay to manage workload

Teachers are being forced to go part-time in order to manage their workload, the Department for Education has admitted. Researchers carried out 75 interviews with full- and part-time teachers and leaders last summer to find out about what causes longer hours at work, and how schools are addressing the problem. The resulting report into ‘Exploring […]