Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Nick Gibb ‘comfortable’ with schools’ approach to cost cutting

The schools minister Nick Gibb has said he is “comfortable” with the way schools are dealing with rising cost pressures. It comes despite headteachers recently revealing how they are having to cut back on textbooks, cleaning and maintenance to balance the books, on top of making teaching and support staff redundant. The Institute for Fiscal […]

John Blake appointed education chief at Policy Exchange

A former union activist and founder of the grassroots Labour Teachers website has been appointed as head of education at right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange. John Blake will leave his role as history consultant and leading practitioner at the Harris Federation to take on the new head of education and social reform position. He replaces Jonathan […]

Educational psychologists stripped from schools

A decline in the number of educational psychologists working with schools has prompted calls for a shake-up of funding. The number of educational psychologists employed by local authorities dropped 13 per cent over five years: from 1,900 in 2010 to 1,650 in 2015, according to new government figures. The change has been linked to councils […]

Treasury claws back £384m academy conversion funding

More than £380 million of a £600 million pot for building capacity in the academies system has been clawed back by the treasury. The BBC reported today that £384 million originally earmarked for converting failing schools into academies and developing multi-academy trusts has been taken back by treasury officials. The money was part of a £600 […]

Teaching apprenticeships: the new school direct?

Ministers are drawing up plans for an apprenticeship route into teaching that could replace current on-the-job training schemes, Schools Week has learned. Jonathan Slater (pictured), the Department for Education’s permanent secretary, told MPs on Monday that his department is creating a teaching apprenticeship to begin next year. Officials are considering how they can “tweak” existing […]

No council cash for new free schools in Manchester

Manchester City Council is refusing to budget for three of the four free schools due to open in the city this September. From this year, councils have to pay for free schools from the moment they open, even if they are not established as a result of a “basic need” identified by local officials. Free […]

Ofsted ‘fatally neglecting’ PSHE and sex education, say humanists

Ofsted inspectors have been accused of “fatally neglecting” the scrutiny of PSHE and sex education in schools after a study found the two subjects were rarely mentioned in inspection reports. Analysis by the British Humanists Association of more than 2,000 inspection reports shows sex and relationships education was mentioned in just 1 per cent of […]

Ministers review incentives and consider ‘toughening Ofsted’ over school career advice

Incentives for schools to offer better careers advice will be reviewed and tougher Ofsted guidance considered as the government finally draws up its ‘comprehensive careers strategy’, a senior minister has revealed. Robert Halfon, the minister for skills, told a meeting in Parliament this morning that schools were to blame for the skills deficit in England because […]

Russell Hobby to step down as NAHT general secretary

The general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, Russell Hobby, will stand down from the role this year, the union has announced. Hobby, who has been in post for seven years and steered the union through a period of significant policy change nationally, will step down in September. He said it had been a […]