Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Scaled scores for 2019 key stage 2 SATs announced

The Department for Education has today released the marks pupils needed for the 2019 key stage 2 tests to achieve the government’s “expected” score. These scores are for the 2019 academic year. For 2022 scores, click here! To meet government expectations, pupils must achieve 100 in their scaled scores. But this equates to different marks […]

97% of primary teachers support campaign to scrap SATs – NEU poll

The vast majority of primary school teachers support a campaign to scrap key stage 2 SATs, the National Education Union has said. The union polled 54,000 of its primary members in a so-called “indicative ballot” on whether they support the NEU campaign for “a sensible alternative to SATs and other high stakes tests”, and received […]

Cut CEO pay if your finances deteriorate, DfE tells academy trusts

Academy trusts should be prepared to cut executive pay if poor management results in a deterioration of their financial position, the Department for Education has said. The government has issued new guidance on setting executive salaries in academy trusts, in which it sets out the elements trustees should consider when deciding the pay of chief […]

Record year for Teach First as two thirds of applicants pass screening

The education charity Teach First has recruited a record cohort of trainee teachers after almost two in three passed its screening process. This summer, 1,735 trainees will join the scheme, which places high-flying graduates who might not have considered teaching in schools serving disadvantaged communities. If the next prime minister wants the country to thrive, […]

Ban private firms from running special schools, say families affected by sudden school closure

Hundreds of parents want private companies banned from running special schools after a healthcare firm announced plans to close a school just weeks before the end of term. Parents of pupils at Crossley Manor school in Rainhill, Merseyside were told by Elysium Healthcare on June 17 that the independent school would close this month. The […]

Review will consider whether headteacher standards should apply to academy CEOs

A review of the government’s headteacher standards will look at whether the guidance should also apply to multi-academy trust chief executives, says its new chair. Malcolm Trobe (pictured), the former acting general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, was appointed this week to lead a 12-member panel convened by the government to […]

Ex-ASCL boss to lead headteacher standards review group

Malcolm Trobe, the former acting general secretary of the ASCL school leaders’ union, will chair a 12-member panel convened to review the government’s headteacher standards. The standards, which are non-statutory, offer advice and best practice for heads, governors and aspiring school leaders. The government wants them to be “of more practical use for heads”, and […]

TBAP criticised by Ofsted over AP academy where a third of staff were absent

Ofsted has slammed an academy trust after inspectors arrived at one of its schools to find more than a third of staff were missing. The watchdog said the TBAP multi-academy trust had an “inaccurate” view of the effectiveness of TBAP Aspire AP Academy in Harlow, Essex, where inspectors found ineffective safeguarding, poor attendance and disruptive […]