Author: Freddie Whittaker

Headteachers know “better than the Department for Education” how to improve their schools, and should be trusted to “get on with the job”, the education secretary said today. Speaking at the annual conference of school leaders’ union NAHT this afternoon, Damian Hinds outlined his plans to save schools from the “spectre” of accountability. It follows […]

The education secretary was in a conciliatory mood as he addressed his first NAHT union conference today. Damian Hinds spoke to heads about accountability, teacher recruitment and retention, and funding when he appeared on stage in Liverpool. Here’s what he said.   I’m delighted to join you here today, and for the opportunity to speak […]

A £5 million sabbatical fund will give experienced teachers the opportunity to take a break from the classroom, Damian Hinds will announce. The education secretary will set out the government’s initial response to its consultation on ‘Strengthening qualified teacher status (QTS) and improving career progression for teachers’ during his speech to the annual conference of […]

New ‘principles’ for school accountability have been published by the Department for Education. The document sets out how the government will approach school accountability following sweeping changes to the system it uses, which are due to be unveiled by education secretary Damian Hinds today. Here is the full text. Principles for a clear and simple […]

Schools deemed coasting will no longer face the threat of forced academisation or a change of sponsor following a U-turn due to be announced by the education secretary today. Under the changes, regional schools commissioners will be prevented from sending education advisers in to inspect schools. Damian Hinds wants to save schools from the “spectre” […]

A £10 million fund set up more than three years ago to improve education in the north of England has not yet been spent, a former minister has told MPs. The Northern Powerhouse Education Fund was announced by the former chancellor George Osborne during his autumn statement in late 2014. According to the Northern Powerhouse […]

The government gave more than £250,000 to a doomed free school to help it close down, new documents reveal. The annual accounts of the Collective Spirit Free School in Oldham, Greater Manchester, show the Education and Skills Funding Agency paid £254,819 “to assist in the close-down of the academy” in 2016-17. The funding meant that […]

The trust blamed for tumbledown buildings and terrible results at Whitehaven Academy has tried to blame the school’s problems on its staff, unions, Ofsted, the media and even parents, according to revealing new documents. Bright Tribe announced it would give up the struggling Cumbrian school last November following intense pressure from parents over the state […]

The inner workings of one of the country’s most controversial academy trusts have been laid bare in the minutes of trustee meetings, obtained by a Freedom of Information request. Bright Tribe, founded by a charity run by millionaire property tycoon Michael Dwan, currently runs 10 academies in Suffolk, Greater Manchester and the north of England, […]