Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

First for-profit free school rated ‘good’ by Ofsted

Ofsted has praised “inspirational leadership” at the first free school in England to be run by a for-profit company, rating it ‘good’ for the first time since it opened. IES Breckland in Suffolk was praised for its improving teaching quality and pupil progress . Inspectors complimented the “ambition” of and teamwork between the Sabres Education Trust, […]

Academy trust CEO Ian Bauckham to advise government on sex education

The government has appointed Ian Bauckham, a former headteacher and president of the Association of School and College leaders, to advise it on reforms to sex and relationships education, Justine Greening has announced. Under plans announced earlier this year, sex education will become compulsory in all schools including academies from September 2019. Relationships education will […]

Government investigates recruitment agency cold calls to teachers

Teachers are being targeted by “unprofessional” cold calls from recruitment agencies during school hours – and the government has vowed to investigate some of the firms responsible. The schools minister Nick Gibb said his department will “explore” the concerns raised by schools about the behaviour of some agencies, after a Conservative MP raised the issue […]

EXCLUSIVE: DfE last changed grammar school response in June — but still refuses to publish

The Department for Education is still refusing to publish the response to its consultation on grammar schools, even though submissions closed almost a year ago and the document has not changed since June, Schools Week can exclusively reveal. The ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation ran throughout autumn 2016 in preparation for the planned introduction […]

Address misconceptions in maths to avoid ‘systematic’ errors, says EEF

Teachers should address misconceptions about maths among seven- to 14-year-olds, lest they lead to a “systematic pattern of errors”, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has said. In its latest guidance, ‘Improving mathematics in key stages 2 and 3, the EEF says that certain misconceptions, such as the assumption that multiplication always produces a larger number, must be […]

Ofsted investigates inspection gaps at outstanding schools

Ofsted is to examine “unusually long gaps” between inspections of ‘outstanding’-rated schools, according to minutes of a board meeting. In July, Ofsted’s board requested analysis of inspection intervals for ‘outstanding’ schools with “reasons for any unusually long gaps”. A policy introduced by the government in 2011 exempts schools with the top grade from further routine inspection […]

Spielman: Let Ofsted inspect Multi-Academy Trusts

Ofsted should be allowed to inspect multi-academy trusts, the chief inspector of schools has said. Amanda Spielman told the parliamentary education committee this morning that she would welcome powers for the watchdog to inspect academy trusts in their entirety, rather than just a “subset” of their schools, as it does now. “I absolutely would welcome […]

Ofsted still not ready to scrap ‘outstanding’ grade

Ofsted is still not ready to decide on the scrapping of the “outstanding” grade, more than a year after its new leader spoke of her discomfort about it. Amanda Spielman told parliament today that issues with Ofsted’s grading system may not be addressed until the inspectorate’s new framework is implemented in two years’ time. Spielman […]

Government ‘developing fundamental British values curriculum’

The Department for Education is developing a “fundamental British values curriculum” aimed at helping teachers train pupils to resist extremism, a minister has said. In a letter to education professionals, seen by Schools Week, the new academies minister Lord Agnew has set out plans to develop new “resources and guidance” for teachers. This new “curriculum” […]