Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

DfE sneaks in £25m saving with teaching school hubs switch

The government has quietly saved £25 million by switching to a system of teaching school hubs, a Schools Week investigation can reveal. Special schools are also being squeezed out in the process. The Department for Education named 81 new teaching school hubs last month. With six already commissioned, it takes the total to 87. Each […]

‘Not every day has been brilliant’ – Williamson opens up about pandemic challenges

Gavin Williamson has opened up about the challenges he’s faced in the pandemic, admitting that “not every day has been brilliant” and he has bought a puppy to help get him through. One thing about pets is they always seem to be pleased to see you, especially dogs The education secretary addressed the virtual annual […]

Exams 2021: Leaders fear pressure from parents with ‘pointy elbows and lawyer friends’

School leaders fear the switch to teacher assessment instead of exams this year will lead to pressure to adjust grades from parents with “pointy elbows and lawyer friends”. Richard Sheriff, president of the ASCL school leaders’ union and chief executive of the Red Kite Learning Trust, said he feared more privileged parents would try to […]

Pupils ‘expected to know’ up to 1,700 words under reforms to MFL GCSEs

Pupils will be “expected to know” up to 1,700 different words under proposed reforms to GCSE modern foreign language (MFL) qualifications. The Department for Education has published revised subject content for French, German and Spanish MFL GCSEs alongside a consultation on the changes. Ofqual, the exams regulator, is also consulting on new assessment objectives for […]

DfE proposes school business rates change to cut ‘substantial bureaucracy’

The government is proposing to change the way “complex” school business rates are collected to cut out “substantial bureaucracy”. Currently, individual schools receive business rates bills from their local councils every year and it is their responsibility to pay them. They also receive money to pay the rates either by claiming it back from the […]

Attendance: Almost 1 in 5 pupils were in school the week before reopenings

Almost one in five pupils were in school last week, just days before wider reopenings, new attendance data shows. Survey data from the Department for Education shows 18.7 per cent of pupils were in attendance at state schools nationwide last Thursday, up from 18.3 per cent the week before. The data also shows a large […]

2022 exams may need similar ‘adaptations’ as those proposed for 2021, warns Ofqual chief

The government is considering making “adaptations” to exams in 2022 similar to those proposed for this summer’s assessments before they were cancelled, the head of regulator Ofqual has said. Simon Lebus, the interim chief regulator, told MPs this morning that the “thinking at the moment is about adaptations along the line that had been originally […]

Government medic warns of school disruption as Covid testing regime beds in

Schools may see a “larger number” of children forced to self-isolate during the first weeks of reopening while new Covid testing regimes bed in, the government’s deputy chief medical officer has said. Dr Jenny Harries told the Downing Street briefing this afternoon she expected to see an impact on transmission rates as pupils return to […]

DfE ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ after admitting £705m for catch-up isn’t all new money

The government stands accused of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” after finally admitting that a £705 million Covid catch-up package is not all new money. Ministers announced last month that they would spend an additional £405 million on top of £300 million announced in January for a range of measures to help address lost learning. […]