Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

DfE extends curriculum fund pilots despite training and recruitment issues

The government is extending its curriculum fund pilots for another year, despite teething problems with training and recruitment. In January, the Department for Education announced the names of 11 academies selected to lead trials of the programme, splitting £2.4 million in funding in an attempt to find the best ways to reduce teacher workload and […]

Larger MATs more likely have ‘unexplained’ pupil moves

Pupils in large multi-academy trusts are more likely to experience an “unexplained” move than their peers in other school groups, a new study suggests. Analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found academy trusts with at least ten secondary schools all have above-average rates of unexplained exits, prompting calls for an investigation into their practices. […]

Becky Francis appointed as new EEF chief executive

Professor Becky Francis will replace Sir Kevan Collins as chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation. Francis will leave her role as director of the UCL Institute of Education and start in her new post in the new year. The EEF is a charity set up with a £125 million grant from the Department for […]

NASUWT admits breaking law over Chris Keates term of office

The NASUWT teaching union has admitted breaching union law by allowing its general secretary to overstay her term of office. Russ Walters, the union’s honorary treasurer, told a hearing of the Certification Officer in London this morning that the union believed “incorrectly” that Keates was entitled to serve for an additional six months because she […]

School happiness fades with age, and 2 other wellbeing findings

The Department for Education has published its first “state of the nation” report on children and young people’s wellbeing. The report was pledged by former prime minister Theresa May in October last year. It is supposed to integrate the “available evidence” on the state of children and young people’s wellbeing. Here are three interesting findings […]

‘It’s a sham’ – union accused of keeping leader in post despite law breach

NASUWT’s appointment of its former general secretary on an acting basis after she overstayed her term of office is a “sham”, it has been claimed. Richard Harris, a former NASUWT employee representing former executive member Susan Parlour in her complaint against the union, told a hearing of the Certification Officer today that the union was […]

Liberty: ‘Secret’ Prevent database ‘destroys’ trust between teachers and pupils

A human rights charity has warned of a potential breakdown in trust between teachers and pupils after details emerged of a “secret” police database containing information gathered by school staff. Freedom of information requests by Liberty revealed the existence of the National Police Prevent Case Management database, which it claims is used to collate “sensitive personal […]

SEND campaigners lose High Court case against government funding cuts

Campaigners against cuts to special educational needs and disabilities funding have lost a High Court battle after judges ruled the government did not act unlawfully. Families representing pupils with SEND announced last September that they were crowdfunding a legal challenge against the then education secretary Damian Hinds and chancellor Philip Hammond, challenging real-terms cuts to […]

‘Partial QTS’ for European SEND teachers will be scrapped under no-deal Brexit

Special educational needs teachers from the European Economic Area won’t be eligible for partial qualified teacher status in England if the country leaves the EU without a deal, the government has announced. At present, teachers from the EEA who are only qualified to teach SEND pupils can apply for partial qualified teacher status in England […]