Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Academies ‘haven’t worked everywhere’, admits former government policy adviser

A policy adviser who worked on the government’s academies programme has admitted the schools “have not, at least yet, worked everywhere”, as she called on ministers to now focus on helping the “quiet majority” of parents. In an article for ConservativeHome today, Rachel Wolf, the founder of the New Schools Network and a former education […]

Government ‘committed’ to Erasmus+ scheme despite commons vote outcome

The government has claimed it remains committed to the Erasmus+ programme, despite most of its MPs having voted against a call to make future membership an “objective” of negotiations. Last night, Conservative MPs voted against an amendment to the European Union (withdrawal agreement) bill 2019-20 that would have made it an objective for the government […]

Make language learning compulsory at KS4, says think tank

The government should force all pupils to learn a foreign language during key stage 4, a new report by the Higher Education Policy Institute has said. But pupils should be offered the chance to study vocational language qualifications instead of GCSEs, which should be recognised in the government’s EBacc performance measure alongside a wider range […]

Publish data on all pupil moves to stop schools using ‘tricks’ to hide exclusions – think tank

Ministers are facing calls to publish data on all pupil moves into alternative provision, not just permanent exclusions, after analysis suggested “unexplained exits” could be hiding a wider issue. The Centre for Social Justice think tank, founded by the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan-Smith, found one in five local authorities recorded below-average permanent exclusions, but […]

DfE scales back teaching school hubs plan

Only around 1,200 schools will benefit from an improvement scheme intended by ministers to reach 2,000 institutions, the Department for Education has said. The government has been forced to scale back the first phase of its teaching school hub programme after a recruitment drive failed to attract enough high-quality bids. Teaching school hubs are the […]

What Dominic Cummings got right about the civil service…and what he got wrong

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s top adviser, has caused a stir with a blog post pledging widespread reform of the civil service. Here, former Department for Education and Cabinet Office staffer Natalie Perera gives her response. In his now infamous blog, Dominic Cummings (in his signature, forthright style) calls for applications from a range of disciplines, […]

Angela Rayner to run for Labour deputy leadership

The shadow education secretary Angela Rayner will run to be Labour’s deputy leader, she will announce today. The Ashton-under-Lyne MP had been touted as a potential candidate to succeed the party’s leader Jeremy Corbyn, who announced his plans to stand down following Labour’s losses in last month’s election. But the Mirror newspaper reports today that […]

New Year’s Honours 2020: Former academy trust head made a Dame

Former academy trust boss Dr Caroline Allen has been made a dame in the new year’s honours list. Allen, who stood down as principal and CEO of the Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust in the summer, is among 53 people with links to the English schools community recognised this year. She told Schools Week […]

DfE extends breakfast clubs pilot to 2021

A government scheme offering primary schools help to set up breakfast clubs will be extended for a year, but the Department for Education still won’t say how many new clubs were established in the first wave of the project. The DfE has confirmed today it will spend an additional £11.8 million on a third year […]