Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

DfE refuses to release pupil nationality data agreement

The government has refused to release a new agreement that prevents the Department for Education from passing pupil nationality and country of birth data to the Home Office. The Department for Education (DfE) told Schools Week that an old agreement that allowed the Home Office to access certain information from the national pupil database had […]

Justine Greening announces primary assessment changes

Justine Greening has just announced a series of changes to primary assessment in a statement to Parliament. Here is what we know… 1. The government will not impose maths and reading resits on children’s arrival in year 7 The government has said it will instead focus on the steps needed to ensure a child […]

Nottingham schools cap teacher workload at ‘2 hours per night’

A cap on the amount of work teachers can complete “in their own time” is being pioneered in Nottingham and could be rolled out across the country. David Anstead, from the Nottingham Education Improvement Board, told MPs on the education committee this morning that the cap of two hours per night for classroom teachers and […]

Shadow education team has the right experience, says Labour

Labour’s new education team is “rooted in the real world”, says shadow education secretary Angela Rayner in an apparent swipe at the government education line-up. Rayner, who stays on following a reshuffle of the Labour frontbench, said the party would be able to draw on the “really solid and direct experience” of new shadow ministers […]

Chief of trust under investigation attacks EFA

The leader of an academy trust under investigation by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) has launched a scathing attack on the government’s financial management. Dame Dana Ross-Wawrzynski (pictured), chief executive of Bright Futures Educational Trust, told a Westminster Education Forum event in London on Monday that there was “not enough money in the system” and […]

Expanding selection could increase racial tensions, warn peers

The reintroduction of grammar schools is a “lethal” policy that could strike a “tinderbox” under divided communities, peers have warned Lord David Puttnam, a producer who once chaired the National Film and Television School, told a debate in the House of Lords that it was a “fantasy” to think that white working-class children would surge into new […]

Regional Schools Commissioners grilled by MPs: 5 things we learned

The House of Commons education committee questioned three of England’s regional schools commissioners this morning. Jennifer Bexon-Smith, the RSC for the east midlands and the Humber, Rebecca Clark, the RSC for the south west and Janet Renou, the RSC for the north of England gave evidence to the committee’s inquiry into multi-academy trusts. Here is […]

Progress 8 results 2016: Key findings from the first national data release

The government has published analysis of provisional GCSE results data which shows for the first time national analysis of Progress 8 scores and other measures in its new accountability system for schools. From this year, schools are judged based on their attainment 8 and progress 8 scores, attainment in English and maths and the number of […]

Durand Academy Trust funding to be terminated

The government has announced it will proceed with the termination of Durand Academy Trust’s funding agreement after the chain refused to sever ties with its controversial former highly paid executive headteacher. The Education Funding Agency has issued Durand with a notice of intention to terminate its agreement, claiming the trust has failed to comply with six of eight […]