Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

David Ross Education Trust told to improve after Ofsted visits 13 schools

A large academy trust has been told to improve pupil progress, just months after the resignations of several of its leaders, including the former education secretary David Blunkett. Ofsted has released the outcome of a “focused inspection” of 13 schools run by the David Ross Education Trust. Inspectors visited the schools in September, rating two […]

New GCSE remark rules cause headache for heads

A new rule requiring schools to seek permission from pupils before submitting their GCSE exams for re-marking is causing an “administrative burden” for leaders trying to challenge marking mistakes that affect a whole cohort. The rule change, announced last year, also means that GCSE exam papers submitted for re-marks from this summer are at risk […]

New research casts doubt on impact of teacher peer observations

The effectiveness of teacher peer observations is in doubt, after a £1.2 million study at 82 schools found they made no difference to exam results. The findings, published by the Education Endowment foundation, are based on the English and maths GCSE results of more than 14,000 secondary pupils who took part in trials. No evidence […]

Schools refer 2,500 cases under anti-extremism ‘Prevent’ duty

More than 2,500 anti-extremism Prevent duty referrals were made by schools, colleges and universities in the first year of its operation, but action was taken in fewer than 150 cases. They were responsible for the highest number of referrals in 2015-16, ahead of the police and local authorities, new data published by the Home Office […]

Government investigated 524 cases of SAT maladministration in 2016

Investigations into maladministration of key stage 1 test leaped by more than 50 per cent last year, while 65 sets of KS2 exam results were either annulled or amended. In its latest report into maladministration in the 2016 primary SATs exams, the Standards and Testing Agency reported and investigated 524 cases in total. The term […]

Association of Muslim Schools cannot appeal Al-Hijrah judgment, court rules

The Association of Muslim Schools is not allowed to appeal to the Supreme Court against a ruling that one of its members broke the law by segregating boys and girls. The Court of Appeal decided that the AMS cannot be named as an “interested party” in the case of Al-Hijrah school in Birmingham, which judges ruled […]

Matt Hood – Director, Institute for Teaching

For a man in his early 30s, Matt Hood has had a lot of jobs. But as the inaugural director of the Institute for Teaching chats excitedly from a sofa in his trendy Holborn office building, it quickly becomes apparent exactly how he’s managed to fit so much in. The same energy and work ethic […]

WCAT can’t keep its schools’ reserves, and 4 other things we learned from education questions

Justine Greening and her ministerial team faced questions from MPs in the House of Commons this afternoon. Here are the main things we’ve learned from the debate: 1. WCAT won’t be able to keep school reserves Surpluses taken from schools by the doomed Wakefield City Academies Trust will not be kept by the trust once […]

‘Mistrust’ between councils and residential special schools is harming pupils

A “striking level of mistrust” between residential special schools and councils isolates them from the rest of the education sector and causes negative outcomes for their pupils, a government report has warned. The combination of financial pressure on town halls and rising numbers of pupils with high needs, coupled with a feeling among these schools that […]