Billy Camden | Schools Week

Academy trust taken off ‘pause list’ and given green light to expand

An academy trust has spoken of its plans to expand after being removed from the Department for Education’s (DfE) list of “paused” sponsors. Academy Transformation Trust (ATT), which runs 16 schools in the Midlands and the east of England, has been told it is free to grow, after having the brakes put on in October […]

Grammar schools should not be ‘taboo’ says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson today called for more grammar schools at The Mayor’s Education Conference. Speaking at City Hall, the Mayor of London called for more competition in education, suggesting that politicians should look again at introducing selective grammar schools. In answer to an audience member’s question, the Mayor said: “Competition in children is inevitable and the […]

Developing enterprising skills can never be a quick-fix

Global Entrepreneurship Week is a good start, but it’s not enough to teach young people all the skills they need to be entrepreneurs Global Entrepreneurship Week is back; a mid-November flurry of enterprise and entrepreneurial activity. It will be a week in schools of competitions, challenge days and trade fairs. Enabling Enterprise will be busy too: […]

Is that apple for teacher an old custom or a bribe?

Schools must not ignore the Bribery Act but a few simple steps should make it easy to avoid running the risk of breaking the law There is a tradition that on the first day of term a bright-eyed and keen pupil will bring their teacher an apple. It’s a cute and harmless custom, isn’t it? […]

Why the NGA is on a mission to improve human resources in schools

School governors often spend more time governing than trustees in many other charities. Are staffing issues to blame? This is Trustees’ Week, but I imagine almost all academy trustees will be blissfully unaware of it. That’s entirely understandable; as school improvement is prioritised for volunteers with limited time. It is a shame that school governance […]

Cash boost for Troops to Teaching after slow start

Funding for a scheme to encourage former soldiers and other service personnel to train as teachers is to be quadrupled, despite a slow start in recruitment. About £2 million has been spent on Troops to Teachers to date, with a new £8.7m tender offered for an extension of the scheme from February 2015 to September […]

New DfE building plans include gym and space for art collection

– £45-50m tendered for upgrade of Old Admiralty Building in Whitehall to house up to 1,600 staff – DfE officials to leave rented building in Victoria and expect an annual saving of £19m a year – Plans include ‘full refurbishment of a gym’ and ‘creation of space for government art collection’ A £50 million Department […]

Teacher banned for embellished CV

A teacher has been banned from the classroom after he lied about his GCSE grades and past experience when he applied for an internal promotion. Matthew Brown, 33, was banned after a hearing of the National College of Teaching and Leadership on October 30. It is thought to be the third hearing this year involving […]

Governor ‘prejudice’ denies women top posts

Prejudice among some governing bodies are stopping women becoming headteachers, a charity warns. The Future Leaders Trust says that while 52 per cent of its participants are women, they make up only 39 per cent of the primary and 31.5 per cent of secondary headteachers appointed through its Future Leaders programme. However, the charity says […]