Alix Robertson | Schools Week

AET in talks to take over new primary schools despite ‘paused’ status

The largest multi-academy trust in the country is in talks to take on new schools for the first time since it was placed on a “pause list” in 2013. The Academies Enterprise Trust says it is in “active discussions” with the Department for Education to absorb more primary schools in future. The DfE confirmed talks […]

Be wary of dropping grade boundaries in new maths GCSEs warns NCETM

Dropping the grade boundaries for the newly reformed maths GCSEs will negatively affect the perception of the subject, according to the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. Charlie Stripp, director of NCETM and chief executive of curriculum development body Mathematics in Education and Industry, said new lower grade thresholds for maths GCSEs are […]

MAT plans 4 free schools to tackle ‘inadequate’ alternative provision

A multi-academy trust is hoping to improve Lincolnshire’s “inadequate” alternative provision by moving pupils into four new institutions. Wellspring Academy Trust has today opened a consultation on its plans to open four new alternative provision (AP) free schools across the county. Under proposals approved by the Department for Education and backed by Lincolnshire council, Wellspring is […]

School leaders lack time to vet mental health services, CQC warns

The majority of primary and secondary schools offer counselling to support children’s mental wellbeing, but school leaders lack the time to properly vet the services they commission. A review of children and young people’s mental health services published today by the Care Quality Commission, the regulator of health and social care in England, found that […]

Cost of regional schools commissioners soars to £26 million

The cost of the national and regional schools commissioners has sky-rocketed, from just £4 million when the roles were established in 2014 to £26 million last year, Schools Week can reveal. The price tag for the commissioners and their teams is expected to rise again for the current financial year, to an estimated £31.2 million, […]

Mental health green paper will tackle risks of social media

A government green paper on children and young people’s mental health, tackling internet safety and the impact of social media, will be published before Christmas. In a response to a joint report on education and mental health from the education and health committees, the government today said it was “committed to the publication of a […]

Funding for PE doubles to £320 million per year

The Department for Education has announced that funding for PE and sport in primary schools has doubled from £160 million to £320 million a year. The money will be delivered through the PE and Sport Premium, which is part of a series of DfE programmes to improve healthy lifestyles among pupils and tackle childhood obesity. […]

Ofsted wipes academy convertor reports after 5 years

A state-school campaign group wants Ofsted to make reports on schools that convert into academies to become accessible “in perpetuity”, rather than removing them from its website after five years. Schools that become academies after December 2013 have previous Ofsted reports wiped from the web five years after they convert. For those that converted before […]

CEOs, CFOs & COOS: How MATs struggle to recruit executives

Multi-academy trusts with more than five schools increasingly need senior finance, operating and executive officers, but school leaders lack the “reference points” to recruit them, as many have never worked with such roles before. The National Governance Association’s ‘Welcome to a multi-academy trust’ guide states that larger MATs (defined as having between five and 10 […]