James Carr | Schools Week

‘Disappointing’ number of primaries ‘barely out of the starting block’ on languages, Ofsted finds

Ofsted has said it was “disappointing” to see how many primary schools were “barely out of the starting block” with their languages curriculum during a series of subject inspections. The watchdog visited 24 ‘outstanding’-rated primary schools between October 2019 and March 2020 in a bid to identify “good practice and strong curriculum management”. Michael Wardle, […]

Ofsted: MAT summary evaluations set for ‘early 2022’ return

Ofsted summary evaluations of multi-academy trusts will “probably” resume in early 2022, the watchdog’s chief inspector has revealed. Amanda Spielman today told the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) annual conference Ofsted would resume the evaluations “as soon as we can”. Trust summary evaluations allow the inspectorate to assess the quality of education and leadership within […]

Support staff roles to be listed on free DfE teacher vacancy website

The Department for Education (DfE) is set to expand its free-to-use Teaching Vacancies website to include support staff. Academies minister Baroness Berridge announced the extension today while speaking at The School and Academies Show. The state-run teacher vacancy service was initially rolled out across England in 2019 as part of the government’s wider strategy to […]

Ofsted director touts online curriculum forums to support schools post-inspection

Ofsted’s national director of education has said the watchdog may host online teacher forums to provide more support for schools after inspections. Sean Harford told The Schools and Academies Show suggested such a plan could also help “humanise” the inspectorate. The director had been asked by Frazer Westmorland, headteacher at Mundella Primary School, in Kent, […]

Speed read: Ofsted’s advice for ‘high-quality’ science education

Ofsted has released the first instalment of its research review series designed to help teachers prioritise catch-up content by setting out the most helpful ways of securing progression. The first one has been published today: a research review into what constitutes “high-quality” science, according to Ofsted. These are some of the key pieces of advice: […]

Ministers must reverse pupil premium funding change, say leading charities

Ministers must reverse a change to how pupil premium funding is calculated, two leading education charities have warned, after new figures revealed a third of schools now rely on the cash to plug budget gaps. A poll from The Sutton Trust, released today, found 34 per cent of heads now use funding they receive for […]

Schools left waiting for thousands of home Covid tests for pupils

Schools have been left waiting for thousands of home Covid tests, prompting warnings the government is “undermining” its own testing regime. Pupils returning to secondary schools from March 8 were expected to undergo three tests on site before doing twice weekly tests at home. Education secretary Gavin Williamson said the tests, which are meant to […]

Consent for school Covid testing trial questioned

The Department for Education has been alerted to potential ethics issues with its Covid testing trial in schools. More than 170 schools and colleges are taking part in the scheme in which close contacts of positive Covid cases can stay in the classroom if they test negative after daily rapid tests. Currently close contacts have […]

Revealed: How much your area will lose from pupil premium funding change

Schools in areas represented by cabinet ministers stand to lose more than £15 million after the government’s “ill-advised” decision to alter the method of calculating pupil premium funding. An analysis by Schools Week of freedom of information (FOI) requests from 114 councils suggests schools stand to lose £94.3 million. Extrapolated across all councils, this amounts […]