Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

A-level results 2021: Top grades rise to 44% in record-breaking year

The proportion of top A-level grades handed out this year has increased to more than 44 per cent following the cancellation of exams and switch to teacher assessed grades. The record-breaking results saw 37 per cent of all A-level students in England get three As or better – more than double the 17.9 per cent […]

Ofqual chief criticised over ’embarrassing’ claim teacher grades ‘more accurate’ than exams

The head of England’s exams regulator has been criticised over his “embarrassing” claim that teacher-assessment grades were “likely to give a much more accurate” reflection of students’ capabilities than exams. We can feel satisfied it’s likely to give a much more accurate and substantial reflection of what their students are capable of achieving One former […]

Trust rapped over CEO’s ‘wholly irregular’ £38k car payments

An academy trust breached funding rules after handing its chief executive “significant” extra benefits without board approval – including a £38,000 car allowance, despite “no evidence a car had been leased”, and a £3,000-a-year healthcare package. The Education and Skills Funding Agency published an investigation report into the Learning Link Multi Academy Trust on Friday. […]

Williamson’s ‘irrational’ refusal to revoke academy order quashed by High Court

The education secretary’s refusal to revoke an academy order for a primary school in the West Midlands has been ruled “irrational” and quashed by the High Court. Governors of Yew Tree Primary School in Sandwell brought a judicial review of a decision by education secretary Gavin Williamson to refuse to revoke the order imposed on […]

How can we get schools to offer more ITT placements?

The government wants schools more involved in initial teacher training, but how can we encourage them to offer more placements, asks Jack Worth. The initial teacher training (ITT) market review articulates a clear desire for a greater role for schools in ITT, including greater alignment between the ITT curriculum and what is done in schools, […]

Revealed: How £250 pay rise for lower-paid teachers will work

The government has confirmed how pay rises for the lowest-paid teachers in England will work next year. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced last year that public sector workers earning more than £24,000 a year would have their pay frozen in 2021-22. However, those earning under £24,000 would receive an uplift of at least £250, the government […]

Over 1 million children miss school because of Covid

More than a million children were absent from school last week because of Covid, new government data suggests. Department for Education attendance survey data shows around 1,050,500 pupils, or 14.3 per cent of the total pupil population were absent from state schools because of the virus last Thursday, up 25 per cent from 839,100, or […]

Vulnerable teenagers to be offered Covid vaccine, but routine jabs ruled out for now

The NHS is to offer a Covid vaccine to vulnerable teenagers at “greatest risk” from the virus, but the government has ruled out routine vaccinations of all children for now. Health secretary Sajid Javid said today he had accepted the recommendation by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be offered […]

Secondary school league tables to return in 2021-22

Secondary school league tables will be brought back next academic year after being suspended for two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has said. But primary schools will not see their test results published in national league tables for another year. The Department for Education has today confirmed school and college accountability arrangements […]