Author: James Carr

A large academy trust has commissioned an “honest and frank” evaluation of its leadership while its chief executive is “unexpectedly away from his duties”.  On Wednesday, Kent Catholic Schools’ Partnership revealed it had commissioned an evaluation report from St Mary’s University, Twickenham, “to inform the further development and improvement” of the trust.  The announcement follows […]

The number of suspected coronavirus outbreaks rose by 70 per cent last week, new figures show, while the number of confirmed cases has also increased by a third. Public Health England’s weekly COVID-19 surveillance report, published today, shows the number of acute respiratory outbreaks in schools rose from 14 to 24 – putting schools on […]

A school which lost a £100,000 legal battle to gag Ofsted from publishing an ‘inadequate’ inspection report has been named. Lady Lumley’s School, in Pickering, North Yorkshire, was graded ‘inadequate’ by the school watchdog during an inspection in October last year. The local authority-maintained school said it fought the judgement as it wrongly portrayed pupils […]

Pupils in England’s most deprived schools are less likely to engage in online learning, while school leaders believe a third of all pupils aren’t engaging at all, a new report has found. The National Foundation for Educational Research study also found pupils in the most deprived schools are twice as likely to have little or […]

Secondary schools can invite pupils from any year group to attend face-to-face meetings, as long as it is keeping with “wider protective measures”, new government guidance states. Guidance released today sets out expectations for schools offering face-to-face support for a quarter of year 10 and 12 pupils, which ministers said should begin this week. This […]

A major school staff professional development provider has lost income from schools – but the drop has been offset by an increase in government funding. Income from schools for the Ambition Institute, which provides training courses for teachers, school leaders and system leaders, dropped £500,000 to £3 million last year. Other CPD providers, including the […]

Ofsted has secured an “unprecedented conviction” against a private school found to be admitting pupils despite being banned from doing so – fining its trust and leader thousands of pounds.  Rabia Girls’ and Boys’ School in Luton has become the first registered independent school to be prosecuted by the government after years of failings. However, […]

The number of coronavirus outbreaks linked to schools remained static last week despite half of primaries opening to more pupils. Public Health England’s weekly COVID-19 surveillance report, published today, shows there were nine confirmed Covid-19 outbreaks in schools last week. That’s the same number as recorded in the week before schools reopened. While the news […]