Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Autumn exam series: Boards only required to offer AS-levels in five subjects

Exam boards will only be required to offer AS-level exams in five subjects during this year’s autumn exam series, Ofqual has confirmed. The exams regulator has set out its final plans for an autumn series for pupils who aren’t happy with their teacher assessment grades, following a consultation. Autumn exams will be open to any […]

Keep face masks in the classroom for another month, urge unions and scientists

Lifting the recommendation that face coverings be worn in secondary classrooms this month will have “consequences” for the health of children and parents, a group of unions and scientists has warned. Teaching unions the NEU and NASUWT and support staff unions Unite, Unison and the GMB have sent an open letter to education secretary Gavin […]

Another university technical college looks set to bite the dust

Another university technical college looks set to close just three years after opening. Sir Simon Milton Westminster UTC, named after the former Conservative politician, announced last week it would be pausing student recruitment from the next academic year. This is while “the UTC’s future is decided”, with chair Andrew Christie saying the “difficult but pragmatic” […]

Whiteman’s Wishlist: NAHT boss sets out his demands to ministers

The NAHT school leaders’ union will hold its annual general meeting today, with general secretary Paul Whiteman due to take the stand for a big speech on what headteachers want to see from government. The meeting, which would normally coincide with the union’s annual conference, is taking place virtually because of the pandemic. Here’s what […]

Mixed signals: evidence for mobile phone bans contested

Evidence cited by Nick Gibb to support mobile phone bans in schools is from an eight-year-old study that some academics have criticised for showing “insignificant” impact on test scores. The schools minister told MPs this week “there is evidence that those schools that do restrict the use of smartphones in schools…are seeing higher test scores […]

Statutory school uniform guidance due in autumn after bill gets royal assent

Schools will have a legal duty to follow new guidance on the cost of school uniforms after a new law was passed today. The education (guidance about costs of school uniforms) bill has received royal assent from the Queen after passing both Houses of Parliament. The law requires the education secretary Gavin Williamson to publish […]

Gibb brushes off £125m pupil premium ‘stealth cut’ complaints

Nick Gibb brushed off growing complaints about a “stealth” pupil premium cut leaving schools £125 million out of pocket. Two leading education charities this week urged ministers to reverse a change to how the funding is calculated. A Sutton Trust poll revealed a third of schools now rely on pupil premium cash to plug budget […]

School attendance bounces back to pre-pandemic levels, DfE reports

Attendance in state primary schools has returned to pre-pandemic levels, with attendance in all schools now the highest it has been during the pandemic. The Department for Education’s latest attendance survey data shows that primary attendance hit 96 per cent last Thursday, which is “broadly in line with attendance in a typical academic year”, and […]

Major MAT’s edtech demonstrator contract exposes potential governance pitfall

The government insists it has a “robust governance process” for its edtech demonstrator scheme after the selection of a major academy trust to deliver its second phase prompted conflict of interest warnings. Schools Week revealed this week that United Learning, England’s largest academy chain, had been awarded an £850,000 contract to run the next year […]