Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

INVESTIGATION: Did schools reinvest their money from playing field sales?

Schools are not using money raised from selling playing fields into new sports facilities despite promises to the contrary, a Schools Week investigation has revealed. Schools and councils with surplus land, including disused playing fields, can seek government permission to sell it off but, in most cases, are obliged to use at least some of […]

Private school in rare move to re-brand as ‘grammar school’

A private school in the West Midlands has taken the unusual step of rebranding as a “grammar school”, and will focus on training its primary pupils for the 11-plus test. St Dominic’s Brewood, an all-through independent school in Staffordshire, has changed its name to St Dominic’s Grammar School and introduced the 11-plus for new pupils […]

Labour should move on from the academies debate, says Angela Rayner

The Labour Party should “move on” from the debate over academies and focus on campaigning for greater controls over the way they are run, the shadow education secretary has said. Speaking to Schools Week ahead of the Labour Party conference, Angela Rayner no longer wants to get “bogged down” in debates on the merits of […]

Plymouth CAST receives financial notice to improve

One of England’s largest academy chains has been issued with a financial notice to improve by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Plymouth CAST, an academy trust that runs 35 schools, has had its spending powers restricted and been ordered to address “weak financial management and inadequate governance”. The trust, which is one of the government’s […]

New DfE ‘delivery managers’ to visit schools and identify problems

New “delivery managers” are to visit schools and identify problems with the way the Department for Education works, it has emerged. Job adverts published last week are seeking managers to join a DfE programme called ‘Building our department together’. Three people will be paid up to £71,000 a year to talk to schools and “ask […]

Ofsted sets out plans to shake up short inspections

The schools watchdog is consulting on plans to give some schools subject to “short inspections” more than two years to prepare for a follow-up visit, and has abandoned plans for a maximum gap of 15 days. Ofsted has proposed changes to the way it converts short inspections for schools previously rated as ‘good’ into full […]

Private and state schools slump on creative arts GCSEs

A higher proportion of pupils are being entered for at least one arts subject at state schools than at private schools, but the overall decline in popularity of arts subjects isn’t letting up, according to new research from the Education Policy Institute. On average, state secondary schools entered 51.3 per cent of pupils for at […]

MPs to investigate PRUs in alternative provision inquiry

The powerful House of Commons education committee has launched an inquiry into alternative provision. Robert Halfon, the chair of the committee, says MPs want to establish whether pupils in pupil referral units (PRUs) and other types of alternative provision are “receiving the best possible support”. It is the first schools-related inquiry launched by the new […]

Information Commissioner cracks down on pupil nationality data collection

The information commissioner has told the Department for Education to strengthen its guidance on collecting pupil nationality data. Census guidance issued last month includes more bold text drawing schools’ attention to their duty to inform parents of their data protection rights. It’s important that schools are clearly aware of this right and the requirement for […]