Author: Freddie Whittaker

Robert Halfon has been re-elected unopposed as the chair of the Parliamentary education committee. The Conservative MP’s re-election was confirmed in the House of Commons today by deputy speaker Eleanor Laing. Halfon, a former skills minister who served in the role from 2017 to 2019, said it was a “true honour” to have been re-elected. […]

One in 20 teachers report having a long-lasting mental health problem, but teaching isn’t the only profession hit by an increase in issues with wellbeing, a new study has found. Research by the UCL Institute of Education found around 5 per cent of teachers in England now say they suffer from a long-lasting mental health […]

Ofsted wants to introduce a new “quality of education and training” judgment for its inspections of initial teacher education partnerships, according to a consultation launched today. The watchdog also wants to switch from a two-stage to one-stage model of inspection, meaning partnerships will only be visited once for a four-day, on-site inspection, and only during […]

Schools should be banned from using “cruel and demeaning” isolation booths, an MP has said. Alex Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds North West, told the Lose the Booths conference today that he supported demands for a “blanket ban” on the use of the controversial punishment, which he described as a human rights issue. I […]

A free school in Bolton paid more than £900 for its chair to stay at a swanky Chicago hotel favoured by Hollywood stars while attending an Apple event, a government investigation has revealed. The Olive Tree Primary School Bolton Limited, a single-academy trust, also allowed Abdul Chohan – who worked as a consultant for the […]

An alternative provision trust has disclosed fears about “ongoing financial sustainability” – blaming late payments from cash-strapped local authorities. New accounts for TBAP Trust show it needed a long-term cash loan from the government this year, which increased its borrowing to £1.9million, up from £950,000 the year before. Government trouble-shooter Angela Barry has joined the […]

Ofsted should be more vocal in challenging schools that narrow the curriculum with three-year GCSEs, the head of England’s largest academy trust has said. Writing in Schools Week, Sir Jon Coles, chief executive of United Learning, said Ofsted was “doing the right thing” and should do so “more full-throatedly”. Ofsted is now finally doing the […]

Schools and nurseries should explore mathematics through games, storybooks, puzzles and songs, according to new guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation. The document, Improving mathematics in the early years and key stage 1, sets out ways school leaders can help children develop a sound understanding of maths at a young age. It recommends that leaders […]

Bonuses paid to men working at the Department for Education were on average 3.8 per cent larger than those paid to women last year. Although the overall gender pay gap at the department continues to decrease, new figures show that in 2019, men received larger bonuses than women for the first time since records began. […]