Author: Freddie Whittaker

The government cannot prove its efforts to boost teacher retention and quality are having a positive impact or achieving value for money, the National Audit Office has said in a damning new report. In a major blow to the Department for Education’s workload agenda, the report also reveals that half of school leaders have not […]

The government will lean on “reluctant” councils to place vulnerable children in boarding schools instead of costly residential care, an education minister has said. Officials will promote boarding as an alternative to care, against what Lord Nash described as a backdrop of historic “prejudice”, as part of a drive to place more vulnerable children in […]

Five new university technical colleges (UTCs) have opened their doors this month, including one that was so popular it had to increase capacity before it even opened. The news has been heralded by Lord Baker, the former education secretary and architect of the UTCs programme, who claims too many mainstream schools “only care about exam pass […]

Just one of the 10 new technical qualifications developed for 14- to 16-year-olds has been signed off by the government, AQA has admitted. The exam board says nine of its new “technical awards”, vocational qualifications designed to be taken alongside GCSEs, have been rejected by the Department for Education. AQA announced the news on its […]

A leaked government plan for post-Brexit immigration has revealed tougher rules which, if implemented, will worsen the current teacher shortage. The draft Home Office memo was leaked to the Guardian and published in full yesterday, and sets out plans for a new visa system that would deny all but the “most skilled” workers from the EU […]

A former academy headteacher who defrauded his school of £100,000, had sex in his office and drank alcohol in school, has pleaded guilty to fraud and misconduct in public office. Sawtry Village Academy in Cambridgeshire has spoken out for the first time about the crimes of its former principal James Stewart, and its ex-vice-principal Alan […]

The Department for Education is advertising for “school improvement” roles at a regional schools commissioner’s office, a move that many will view as replicating the function of local authorities within central government. Two experts are being recruited – one for academy school improvement and another on trust development – to work in the Sheffield office […]

The Education Central Multi Academy Trust has been ordered to improve its teaching and school improvement “urgently”, after Ofsted rated half of its schools as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’. The ECMAT trust is run by the University of Wolverhampton and operates 13 schools, of which 12 have been inspected so far. Six of these were […]

Schools are unsure what they should teach their media studies pupils this term, following delays to the sign-off of new exams. Several new A-level media specifications that are due to be taught for the first time this year have only been accredited by Ofqual in the last few weeks, and one is still awaiting sign-off. […]