Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Trusts fail to make use of £500k DfE takeover funding

Trusts given hundreds of thousands of pounds by the government to take over struggling schools have failed to expand, a Schools Week investigation has revealed. New figures obtained under the freedom of information act show that the Department for Education has allocated more than £126 million in sponsor capacity funding since 2013. Schools Week obtained […]

Less than 1 in 5 teachers download DfE’s workload reduction toolkit

Less than one in five teachers in England have downloaded a toolkit launched by the government to help them tackle unnecessary workload. The Department for Education launched its workload reduction toolkit for teachers and school leaders last July. At the time, ministers were mocked and criticised for the timing of the release of the document, […]

ASCL ‘forgotten third’ inquiry mulls ‘stage not age’ testing call

An influential commission on the future of GCSEs is considering recommending an end to the comparable outcomes system and a move to “stage not age” testing of pupils. Leadership union ASCL launched its “forgotten third” inquiry last October to examine the plight of those pupils who fail to achieve a grade 4 in their GCSE […]

We must be more ‘forensic’ in funding campaign, Barton warns

Tales of teachers having to buy equipment for their schools are “unhelpful” and are eclipsing the more serious impact of education funding cuts, the leader of a headteachers’ union has said. Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told Schools Week heads and teachers need to find a “different […]

Hinds to announce wellbeing focus at ASCL conference

Damian Hinds has commissioned his fifth advisory group since taking office – this time looking at boosting school teacher and leader wellbeing. The education secretary will tell the annual conference of school leaders’ union ASCL today the group will lead the government’s efforts to look at “how teachers and school leaders can be better supported […]

Majority of MATs achieve ‘below average’ progress for 16 to 18-year-olds

New data released by the government today shows 54 per cent of multi-academy trusts achieved a below or well-below-average progress scores for their sixth formers last year. For the first time, the Department for Education has published MAT league tables for 16 to 18 provision, covering 50 academy trusts across England. The tables rank the […]

Government to fund free sanitary products in secondary schools

The chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond has announced plans to fund free sanitary products for pupils in secondary schools and colleges – but those in primary schools will miss out. During his spring statement today, Hammond said the funding would be made available from September. However, no further details about the funding, including the […]

London schools lack ‘ability and resources’ to tackle knife crime – Ofsted

Schools in London don’t receive enough support to tackle knife crime, Ofsted has warned. New research from the watchdog found schools lack the “ability or the resources to counter the complex societal problems behind the rise in knife crime”. Some schools shy away from using searches or specific education programmes because they are worried about sending […]

Schools are ignoring rules over knife exclusions, Ofsted warns

Schools “may be doing children a disservice” by failing to follow statutory guidance on excluding pupils, Ofsted has warned. The watchdog said the most “striking examples” were of teenage girls being excluded for carrying a knife for the purposes of self-harm. “In those examples, headteachers were clear that, if other children had seen the knife, […]