Author: Jess Staufenberg

A technology expert is the “missing job” on leadership teams in schools and academy trusts, a senior member of a large chain has warned. Lauren Thorpe, head of data and systems strategy at Ark, which has 39 schools, said her role was “missing from almost everywhere else” and as a result heads are making short-term […]

The proportion of schools that were full or over-capacity fell slightly last year, new data shows. Department for Education statistics released this morning show 15 per cent of secondary schools were full or over-capacity in 2018, down from 16 per cent in 2017. The proportion of full or over-capacity primary schools also decreased from 23 […]

The government is planning a new national SCITT for computing, despite other subject-specific training centres failing to hit recruitment targets. The Department for Education is looking for organisations to run a “national computing school-centred initial teacher training” (SCITT) programme to “ultimately design a unique and high-quality school-led offer in this priority subject”. But other subject-specific […]

An academy trust has expanded a “grammar stream” at one of its schools, while at least two more chains have opened selective classes this year. United Learning, which has 59 schools, has nearly doubled the number of year 7 pupils studying a more academic curriculum at Swindon Academy in Wiltshire. It comes as the Odyssey […]

School governors and trustees should “regularly communicate” with parents and make sure schools listen to their communities before making decisions, according to new guidance from the government. The Department for Education has today updated its governance handbook for academies and maintained schools. The updated document states that boards should be able to show how the […]

The number of penalty notices handed out by councils for poor attendance has soared by 74 per cent in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court case, the Department for Education has revealed. New data shows councils handed out 260,000 fines for poor attendance in 2017-18, compared to just 149,300 in 2016-17. The government says […]

The boss of a high-profile academy trust has urged headteachers “not to be servants of DfE policy”, or take no for an answer from civil servants over issues such as extra funding. Rachel de Souza, chief executive of the Inspiration Trust, told heads in Cumbria to “learn political skills” to improve struggling schools in rural […]

Ofsted has tightened its conflicts of interest rules, with inspectors now forced to declare all of their previous and future consultancy work. The inspectorate said it updated the guidance, published on Monday, to “clarify any ambiguity” around its expectations for inspectors. Under the new rules, inspectors must declare all previous employment at a school or […]