Billy Camden | Schools Week

Greening: Schools will not need to track ‘ordinary working families’

Schools will not have to identify which pupils come from “ordinary working families”, Justine Greening has confirmed. The education secretary was speaking at St Mary’s University today to outline her vision for education under Theresa May’s “plan for Britain”. Her speech followed the launch of a consultation yesterday by the government, which proposes an official […]

A UTC that outsourced teaching says government knew about deal

A specialist vocational school that outsourced its teaching has been handed a financial notice to improve, although it says the government signed-off on the arrangement. Energy Coast UTC in Cumbria was handed the notice last week over “historic failures” in its financial management. The Education Funding Agency (EFA), which sent the notice, cited a number […]

English A-level applications drop 35% due to new ‘harder’ GCSEs

Schools and colleges are bracing themselves for a “significant” drop in English and maths A-level entries this year as pupils are put off by “tougher” GCSEs. English looks likely to be the worst hit, with figures shared exclusively with Schools Week showing take-up of the subject at some sixth forms is dropping by 35 per […]

Half of heads unaware of National Reference Test, and 5 more findings from Ofqual perception data

The exams regulator Ofqual has today released the results of its annual survey on the perception of GCSEs, A-levels, and other qualifications in England. Over 2,000 people were consulted, including 262 headteachers, 601 teachers, 313 young people, and 365 academics. Carried out by YouGov, this is the 15th survey of its kind commissioned by Ofqual […]

Bolton Wanderers Free School under fire over promises in DfE application forms

The closing Bolton Wanderers Free School (BWFS) is facing more scrutiny after promises in its original application appear not to have been fulfilled and “supporters” distance themselves from the school. Schools Week revealed last week that BWFS, which is due to close in August because of financial concerns, paid almost £600,000 in rent and utility […]

Ofsted considers tracking Facebook and Twitter to check on schools

Ofsted is considering tracking pupils’ and parents’ social media pages to help decide which schools need an intervention. But experts say that data from platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is “unreliable” and not a good basis for working towards the evidence-based practice that the inspectorate has committed to. The education watchdog included the novel […]

Four academies approved to hire pupils as apprentices and lend staff to train others

Four multi-academy trusts are gearing up to offer jobs to former pupils and send staff to train apprentices in other schools after successfully getting on to the new register of apprenticeship providers. The government last week published the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP), a list of organisations eligible to deliver apprenticeship training. Nearly 2,000 […]

Bolton Wanderers Free School paid £600k in rent and bills to football club

An “inadequate” school linked to a former premier league football club and now closing in August because of financial concerns, paid almost £600,000 to the club in rent and utility bills in just two years, Schools Week can reveal. Bolton Wanderers Free School (BWFS) opened in September 2014 after it was established by the Eddie […]

Critics attack plans for school mindfulness trials

Mindfulness and relaxation are to be taught in schools as part of a government trial to combat teenage anxiety and to promote child happiness. But critics say the experiments will push pupils to see everyday feelings as mental health problems. The Department for Education (DfE) released plans for randomised control trials last week of two […]