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12 May 2026

Author: Freddie Whittaker

A-level drop-out rate continues to rise

Drop-out rates among pupils studying for their A-levels and other 16 to 19 qualifications rose across the board last year. New data from the Department for Education shows the retention rate at A-level fell to 91.3 per cent in 2019, down from 92.5 per cent the previous year and 96.1 per cent in 2016. Retention […]

Budget 2020: What do schools need to know?

The chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his budget address in Parliament. Here are the announcements relevant to schools.   1. Freelance workers affected by coronavirus can claim benefits more easily Supply teachers and other freelancers in the education sector will be able to access benefits more easily if they cannot work due to coronavirus. Sunak, […]

Help us nationalise more private schools, head tells DfE

A leader who converted his prestigious private school into a state school has said the government should set up a dedicated unit to help others to follow suit. Hans Broekman, the principal of Liverpool College, told an event in London this week that it was “actually very difficult for an independent school to join the […]

Academy boss Jo Saxton appointed policy adviser to Gavin Williamson

The chief executive of the Turner Schools academy trust has been appointed as an adviser to the education secretary. Dr Jo Saxton will advise Gavin Williamson and Baroness Berridge, the academies minister, on policy issues, according to the trust’s website. She will be employed as a civil servant, not a special adviser. Saxton established Turner […]

Top DfE boss: SEND failures driven by ‘stresses and strains’ on the system

Failures of support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities have in part been driven by “stresses and strains” placed on the system following government reforms and funding pressures, the top boss of the Department for Education has admitted. Jonathan Slater, the DfE’s permanent secretary, told the parliamentary public accounts committee today that his […]

‘Big Bang’ STEM education event cancelled over coronavirus fears

A science and engineering fair for school pupils due to be held in Birmingham this week has been cancelled because of coronavirus. Organisers of the Big Bang UK young scientists and engineers fair, which was due to take place at the National Exhibition Centre from Wednesday to Saturday, said cancellation was the “most appropriate decision […]

Uniform bill MP wants restriction on branded items

Families are being made to pay up to £4 extra to add compulsory initials on to items of PE kit – in some cases, pushing the school uniform price up by 20 per cent. Labour MP Mike Amesbury, the architect of a law to make schools ensure their uniforms are more affordable, wants statutory guidance […]

Framework criticism is just ‘small and vocal minority’, claims defiant Spielman

The criticism of Ofsted’s new inspection framework is solely down to a “small and vocal minority”, Amanda Spielman will claim this weekend, as the government prepares to intervene in matters. The chief inspector will tell ResearchED Birmingham that “feedback from many directions is telling us that the inspections are nearly always working well” with schools […]