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12 May 2026

Author: Freddie Whittaker

Teachers’ pay cap maintained at 1% for 2017-18

Pay rises for teachers will remain capped at 1 per cent on average in 2017-18, the government has confirmed. The government has this evening announced that it intends to accept a recommendation from the School Teachers Review Body that teacher pay scales for most teachers shift by 1 per cent. The 1 per cent rise […]

Reform grammar schools or pull their funding, senior MP tells ministers

Ministers are under pressure to reform grammar schools or pull their funding after new government data showed that the proportion of pupils at selective schools claiming free school meals rose by a tiny fraction in the past year. Lucy Powell, the former shadow education secretary and one of parliament’s fiercest grammar schools critics, says the […]

Investigation: Schools face postcode lottery in free school meals take-up

Figures released last week reveal that registration for means-tested free school meals – which is linked to pupil premium funding – is at its lowest since records began. Freddie Whittaker delves into local authority data to see how rates vary across the country and how councils are encouraging parents to sign up. Schools across England […]

Six MPs stand for election as education committee chair

Six Conservative MPs, including three former education ministers, have been nominated to stand for election to chair the House of Commons education committee. The deadline for nominations officially passed at 3pm today, and Nick Boles, Rehman Chishti, Robert Halfon, Tim Loughton, Stephen Metcalfe and Dr Dan Poulter have officially made the ballot. The MPs had to […]

Teachers turn to think tanks over DfE for schools research

School leaders and teachers are more likely to rely on think tanks for research to help them improve schools, rather than the Department for Education (DfE), a government-commissioned report has found. The paper, which evaluates the progress in evidence-informed teaching in England, found that school staff seeking research and evidence were more likely to look […]

English schools to join pilot of PISA tests for 5 year olds

Schools in England will take part in a pilot of tablet-based tests for five-year-olds, the Department for Education has announced. Officials say England will join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) international early learning and child well-being study (IELS). A field trial, run by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), will take place between […]

Minister confirms U-turn on plans to scrap universal infant lunches

Universal infant free school meals are here to stay, the schools minister Nick Gibb has announced today, confirming a U-turn on controversial plans from the Conservative Party’s manifesto. Gibb told MPs in parliament today that, having listened to feedback from schools, the government has decided that it is “right to retain” the existing universal infant free […]

Former education ministers to run for select committee chair

Former education ministers Robert Halfon and Tim Loughton are to stand for election to chair the House of Commons education committee. Schools Week’s sister paper FE Week has learned that Halfon, the former skills minister who was unceremoniously sacked by Theresa May in her recent reshuffle and Loughton, who served as children and families minister […]