Author: James Carr

The leader of an academy trust is calling on the government to set up a voluntary relief fund to support those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic – pledging 20 per cent of his own salary.  Sir John Townsley, chief executive officer at GORSE Academies Trust in Leeds, called for a scheme which would allow people […]

Pets at Home has been branded the “worst type of irresponsible” by education leaders after distributing a letter for head teachers that asserted its staff qualified for the coronavirus key workers list.  The letter stated employees can apply to headteachers for emergency school childcare as they fall “within the list of critical categories” and “their […]

Large academy trusts are spending almost 75 per cent more on staff development at secondary schools than local authorities, new analysis has discovered. Education specialists SchoolDash, in collaboration with the Teacher Development Trust, has analysed the trends in staff development amid the sector’s deepening recruitment and retention crisis. It found large academy trusts – those […]

Lord Agnew’s cost-cutters failed to identify savings at more than one in ten schools they visited, new figures show. The findings challenge the government’s rhetoric around school funding, particularly from former academies minister Lord Agnew, which suggested that all schools could tighten their purse strings. A Freedom of Information request found no savings opportunities were […]

The education secretary is reversing the ‘ideological obsession’ of his predecessors by visiting a wider range of schools – rather than just academies – new figures show. Freedom of information figures show Gavin Williamson has visited a total of 46 schools, colleges and universities since taking the post in July last year. Of these ministerial […]

A school is raiding its science cupboards and sending anything of use to its local hospital to help battle against the equipment shortage brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.  Huntington School in York will send “well over 100 pairs of goggles” and “as many rubber gloves as we can get hold of” to York Hospital […]

School leaders are taking advantage of a controversial management apprenticeship that education secretary Gavin Williamson is “unconvinced” provides value for money. The National College of Education had the highest number of people starting the level 7 senior leader apprenticeship, known as the MBA apprenticeship, out of all training providers in the first quarter of 2019-20. […]

An Orthodox Jewish school has been rapped for making pupils sit qualifications of “no value” which result in the school issuing its own certificate – because leaders would have to break exam rules and “censor” GCSEs. Bnois Jerusalem Girls School, in Hackney, was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in a report published today which also found […]

A school is asking parents to help clean the toilets and plans to make its own hand sanitiser in a bid to avoid a Coronavirus outbreak. Framwellgate School Durham headteacher Andy Byers sent a letter to parents yesterday outlining the steps the secondary school is taking to prepare for any outbreak, which also include setting […]