Billy Camden | Schools Week

Nicky Morgan avoids decision on statutory PSHE

Nicky Morgan has been accused of “sidestepping” a decision as to whether or not the government will move towards making PSHE and sex education compulsory in schools. The education secretary today released responses to the Education Select Committee’s report from February, which recommended the Department for Education (DfE) “develop a workplan for introducing age-appropriate PSHE […]

Parliament opens new education centre

Parliament’s new Education Centre, which will double the number of school children who can visit the estate each year, is officially being opened today by Professor Brian Cox OBE. The ceremony is being attended by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow and the Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza, as well as school children. Over the last […]

Primary schools receive £10k grants for improving phonics teaching

Primary schools that have shown “expertise” in teaching pupils to read will receive £10,000 to share their knowledge with other schools, Nick Gibb announced today. The schools minister wants the grants to spearhead the government’s drive to eliminate pupil illiteracy. The grants will be given to eight schools who will then use the money to […]

Education committee members who went to private school

At least three of the 11 members of the new education select committee attended fee-paying schools, broadly reflecting the proportion of privately educated MPs among the 2015 intake. Of the nine MPs whose schooling details are known, three – just over a quarter of the committee – went to an independent school. According to a […]

Governors! Make it your mantra to question everything

Every school governor must always remember to ask “how?” if he or she is to effectively monitor the quality of teaching and ensure every student receives the best possible education The role of the school governor has changed – and continues to change. Aside from juggling work and family commitments, we must know our school […]

How do examiners decide grades?

The exams are finished and GCSE and A-level students are heading off for summer. But there are 12 weeks – and a lot of work – from “pens down” to results day Did you hear that noise? It’s the sound of thousands of students collectively breathing a sigh of relief. If April is the cruellest […]

Why I moved from secondary to primary and love it

Six years in a challenging secondary school were fulfilling, but this Teach First ambassador wanted to make the greatest possible impact on children’s lives. And so she switched to the primary sector My road to Damascus was a graffiti-clad street in Berlin, which is where I escaped to after almost six years of slogging it […]

High drama in the corridors

One of the five Birmingham schools involved in the Trojan Horse scandal has decorated its corridors with a drama installation based on British values. Year 7 pupils at Saltley Academy, formerly Saltley School, created the project with the help of Stan’s Café Theatre Company. It shows eight scenes from British history, including the discovery of […]

Call for a comeback for careers advice

One of the UK’s biggest building services companies wants the government to reinstate funding for schools careers advice to help to tackle the “growing skills crisis” across the building industry. NG Bailey also says that the lack of face-to-face careers advice in schools means millions of pupils are not being told about the full range […]