Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Labour plans grammar schools debate after issue tops poll of members

The Labour Party conference is to hold a special debate on grammar schools and consider whether to make scrapping selection altogether a party policy after the issue topped a list of concerns among members. A motion from the Socialist Educational Association (SEA), backed by Nottingham Trent Constituency Labour Party, will be debated tomorrow after more […]

Corbyn launches national campaign against grammar schools

The newly re-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will launch a national campaign against plans to open new grammar schools in England. The Islington North MP, who won 61.8 per cent of the vote against his rival Owen Smith, used his victory speech today to announce the campaign, which his team hopes will act as a call […]

£70m government-funded careers company insists it has ‘achieved a lot’

The Careers and Enterprise Company will do more to support and train teachers, its chief executive has said after criticism of the organisation’s use of public money. Claudia Harris has denied that the CEC, which now has 25 full-time staff and 13 contractors, is turning into a quango, and insists it has “achieved a lot” […]

Full academisation could cost taxpayer £320 million, warn councils

Converting all remaining council-maintained schools into academies could cost the taxpayer £320 million, the Local Government Association has warned. The organisation, which represents councils across England, has used data on the costs of previous conversions from 77 local authorities to calculate what it claims will be the true scale of the financial burden of implementing […]

Academy trust ordered to close private company sponsor after EFA investigation

An academy trust has been ordered to close a linked commercial company and “closely monitor” its finances following an investigation by the Education Funding Agency, its second in the space of three years. The Education Fellowship Trust has been warned that its current organisational model is “not acceptable” and does not confirm to model articles […]

Conservative minister with grammar schools ‘concerns’ quits government

A Conservative minister said to have concerns about plans to open new grammar schools has resigned. Lord Jim O’Neill, the former treasury minister who was appointed by George Osborne to steer the government’s northern powerhouse policy, also intends to move to the non-partisan cross benches in the House of Lords. The former Goldman Sachs chair told […]

DfE admits to alternative provision failures

The government “needs to do better” for pupils in alternative provision, says a senior civil servant following claims that teens have been left in “grotty” institutions with an “ad-hoc” approach to safeguarding. Harriet Becher, the deputy director of the Department for Education’s disadvantage division, said outcomes for children attending pupil referral units were “not good […]

New grammar schools will not increase social mobility, report finds

Opening new grammar schools is unlikely to boost education standards or increase social mobility, a major study released today has revealed. Research by the Education Policy Institute shows that high performance of pupils at grammar schools, in comparison to those at non-selective schools, is driven by the “very high prior attainment and demographics of pupils […]

Inquiry follows primary assessment ‘chaos’

MPs have launched an inquiry into primary assessment to investigate the impact of recent reforms on teaching and learning. The education committee inquiry will consider the consequences of a year in which the government was forced to scrap baseline tests for infants and was embarrassed by a security breach that led to the cancellation of […]