Author: Freddie Whittaker

The proportion of secondary schools that are full or over capacity has risen for the first time in at least seven years. Government statistics released this morning show that 16.2 per cent of secondary schools were full or over-capacity in 2017, up from 14.4 per cent in 2016, a rise of 12.5 per cent. The […]

A company that runs apprenticeship training for schools has been branded “not fit for purpose” by Ofsted after inspectors found apprentices did not “learn anything new” on its courses. The Key6 Group, which was set up by former headteacher Dr Jerry Grundy and runs an ‘apprentices in schools’ programme, began “swiftly” recruiting after it was […]

Up to 10 schools are being sought to take part in a trial of a scheme aimed at persuading former teachers to return to the classroom. The government wants to find lead schools in the west Midlands and south-east for its programme, which will have a budget of at least £298,000 and will “test the best […]

Labour has lost its bid to extend eligibility for free school meals to pupils from all households claiming universal credit. The party forced a vote in the House of Commons on changes proposed by the government that will see a new £7,400 earnings threshold for free school meals eligibility introduced for those claiming the new […]

The education secretary made an “error” when he claimed in parliament that schools would get a real-terms increase in per-pupil funding, the Department for Education has admitted, following an investigation by the statistics watchdog. Damian Hinds was reported to the UK Statistics Authority after he claimed on January 29 that “real-terms funding per pupil is […]

Small schools will end up subsidising businesses to the tune of £80 million under plans announced by the chancellor in the spring statement, according to school leaders’ union the NAHT. Philip Hammond announced this afternoon that small businesses will be handed £80 million in funding to help them recruit apprentices under the apprenticeship levy. Small […]

New sponsors have been found for eight schools run by the doomed Education Fellowship Trust, the government has said. But the trust’s accounts show that delays to the rebrokering process have resulted in additional legal and financial costs for the trust. The Department for Education said that it has “already confirmed new trusts” for eight of […]

Hundreds of headteachers gathered in Birmingham last week for the annual conference of the Association of School and College Leaders. The event hosted Damian Hinds’ first speech to the profession since he was appointed as education secretary, and keynotes from Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of schools, and Lucy Powell, the former shadow education secretary. […]

The chief inspector of schools is “loath” to commit Ofsted to judge schools on how they manage teacher workload, but has not ruled it out. Amanda Spielman told the ASCL union conference in Birmingham this morning that although she is keen to help schools tackle workload, she is also wary of Ofsted becoming “a wedge […]