Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Rayner: Labour has ‘will and vision’ to improve education

Labour has the “political will and vision” to make England’s education system “the envy of the world”, the shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has said today, but school leaders must wait to hear the party’s official policies. The former care worker and union rep admitted the need to develop “coherent” policies had given her “sleepless […]

Lower 11-plus pass mark for poorer pupils, government tells grammars

A lower 11-plus test pass mark will be introduced for poorer pupils in a bid to make grammar schools more inclusive, but research suggests this could defeat the object of selective schools. The Times reports today that the government will force grammar schools to offer lower 11-plus pass marks to poorer children to “end the middle-class […]

Don’t take decisions which harm other trusts, Carter warns academy leaders

Academy bosses should not be taking decisions which have a negative impact on other trusts, Sir David Carter has warned. One of the “biggest challenges” Carter said he faces as national schools commissioner is preventing a system of “isolated” academy trusts as schools continue converting their status over the next 10 years. Carter addressed members […]

ASCL 2017: Justine Greening heckled by heads over grammar plans

School leaders heckled the education secretary Justine Greening today over claims that grammar schools help close the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils. Heads shouted “rubbish” and audibly groaned as Greening took questions about her plan to expand selection during an otherwise ordered and polite session at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual […]

Geoff Barton, general secretary-designate, Association of School and College Leaders

Geoff Barton strides around his school with the pride of a parent whose child has won a prize for being the best in everything. As he paces the corridors, talking about the debating team’s successes, espousing the virtues of a Shanghai exchange programme and introducing pupils left, right, and centre, it is hard to imagine […]

Class sizes pushing 40 as cuts bite, union claims

Headteachers are being forced to increase class sizes to cope with funding pressures, with some leaders reporting they are now teaching pupils in classes of 40 or more. Of more than 1,000 school leaders who responded to a survey by the Association of School and College Leaders, more than four fifths said they had increased class […]

Low-attainers at partially selective schools do worse at GCSE, study finds

Pupils with low prior attainment at partially selective schools are less likely to achieve good GCSEs than those at non-selective schools, analysis by the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) has found. The research organisation also found there was “no overall academic benefit” for pupils attending partially selective schools, after analysing data from 38 of […]

Grammar school taxis could cost £5k a pupil

Plans to fund free transport for disadvantaged pupils to grammar schools could leave councils and schools out of pocket, with one Oxfordshire councillor warning that the move could cost up to £5,000 a child in taxi fares. In Wednesday’s Budget, the chancellor Philip Hammond announced that the government’s “extended rights” transport scheme will soon include […]

Budget 2017: The 5 things schools need to know

The chancellor Philip Hammond has unveiled his spring budget in the House of Commons today. Most of the education announcements were released in advance, so there were few surprises for the schools community. As expected, there was no new cash to help schools struggling with budget pressures. Here is a round-up of the main points […]