James Carr | Schools Week

Exam appeals rise again as new reforms rolled out to all GCSEs

The number of appeals against GCSE and A-level exam grades rose by 45 per cent last year as new grounds for an appeal were extended to all GCSE subjects. Statistics published today by exams regulator Ofqual show there were 1,240 appeals in 2019, up from 857 in 2018. A total of 675 of the appeals were […]

Spielman: People are ‘perhaps more frightened than they actually need to be’ about school returns

Ofsted’s chief inspector has claimed people are “more frightened than they actually need to be” about a full return to school. Amanda Spielman voiced her concerns while appearing before the Public Select Committee (PAC) earlier today to discuss ‘lessons from coronavirus’. She said the announcement schools would not be welcoming back all pupils until September […]

Coronavirus: Teachers and pupils to be tested in new ‘surveillance study’

Teachers and pupils across England will receive new coronavirus testing to “assess and monitor” the spread of the disease in school settings, the government has revealed. Up to 100 schools will be tested by the end of the summer term under the programme’s initial phase. Around 200 staff and pupils at each school will be […]

Coronavirus: QTS extension for trainees who haven’t made ‘adequate progress’

A “small minority” of trainee teachers who have fallen behind due to the coronavirus pandemic will have until December to earn their qualified teacher status (QTS). New government guidance states as some trainees “will not have been making adequate progress”, provider funding is being made available to facilitate necessary course extensions. Schools Week previously revealed […]

Recruitment fears as schools withdraw training placements

A “worryingly high” number of schools have pulled out of offering teacher training placements for the next academic year as they adapt to a post-pandemic world. Schools are saying that they do not want extra people in classrooms and are reluctant to allow trainees to teach because of the amount of school time pupils have […]

Coronavirus: 4 in 10 primary schools did not take more pupils on June 1, says NEU

More than four in 10 primary schools ignored government pleas to reopen more widely to pupils on Monday, England’s largest teaching union has said. A survey of National Education Union members representing almost 11,000 primary and all-through schools found that 44 per cent reported their school opted to remain open only to vulnerable pupils and […]

Coronavirus: AQA exam portal is ‘ripe for human error’, schools warn

An exam board’s online portal that requires schools to input potentially thousands of teacher-assessed grades one-by-one is “ripe for human error” and could result in “horribly wrong” grades, school staff have warned. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across England are providing centre-assessment grades and rankings for each pupil after summer exams were cancelled. Exam […]

Did the government take its eye off the ball on pandemic planning?

In 2008, the DfE produced detailed guidance on how to continue learning if schools closed due to a pandemic. But when Covid-19 hit, the government stood accused of being unprepared to ensure youngsters can learn at home. So, what happened? Twelve years ago the government published a plan of action to be taken by schools […]

DfE spent £50k trying to hide academy chief vetting failure

The Department for Education spent almost £50,000 attempting to keep secret its failure to properly vet a businessman it allowed to run an academy trust that later collapsed. Johnson Kane co-founded the Education Fellowship Trust in 2012, and became chief executive for its 12 schools and 6,500 children until its closed six years later. The […]