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30 April 2026

Author: Jess Staufenberg

Church schools hit by related-party transaction rules

Trusts with church schools face having to disclose minor transactions such as lending minibuses to each other under new government rules. From next month, trusts will have to declare to the Education and Skills Funding Agency all payments they make to related parties in advance, with payments exceeding £20,000 needing government approval. Some trusts have […]

Re-focus pupil premium on teacher retention and CPD, say MPs

The government should rename the pupil premium the “social mobility premium” to encourage schools to spend the cash on teacher development and retention, a cross-party group of politicians has said. The all-party parliamentary group on social mobility, which includes former education secretaries Justine Greening and Baroness Morris, warned that “substantial amounts” of pupil premium money […]

Take PE and sports premium cash off schools that misspend it, urges new report

The government should hold headteachers to account for how they spend the PE and sports premium and claw back money if it is misspent, a new report has urged. An all-party parliamentary group has called on the government to stop relying on “market research companies” which don’t rigorously check how schools are using the cash, […]

Most EEF trials ‘don’t tell us anything’, say researchers

Most trials carried out by a major educational research charity “don’t tell us anything” about whether an intervention had an impact on pupil learning, researchers have warned. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) was founded in 2011 under Michael Gove, the former education secretary, with a £125 million grant to fund research into boosting attainment for […]

First non-faith school inspected at Star Academies Trust put in special measures

The first non-faith school to be inspected after joining the lauded Star Academies Trust has been placed in special measures – becoming the trust’s only school not to be judged ‘outstanding’. Star, which the government has called an “expert schools sponsor”, took over Highfield Leadership academy in Blackpool in 2016 – but Ofsted’s report published […]

KPMG Foundation report left out negative findings

An education foundation left out negative findings from a study of its flagship literacy programme. In December the KPMG Foundation, the charity arm of the global consultancy firm, released the findings of a major study into the Reading Recovery programme. The report said pupils on the programme, which the charity’s website describes as its “flagship […]

DfE bans ISIS supporter Mizanur Rahman from running schools

A man jailed for his support for terrorist group Islamic State has been banned from being involved in running schools. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman is now barred from holding management positions in private schools and being a state school governor under a prohibition direction issued by the education secretary Damian Hinds. Rahman, an associate of radical preacher […]

Government moves to rebroker failing Steiner free schools

Two Steiner schools criticised by Ofsted over safeguarding failures have been warned they face being moved to new sponsors. Steiner Academy Bristol (pictured) and Steiner Academy Frome have been issued with termination warning notices by Lisa Mannall, the regional schools commissioner for the south west of England. The schools, which follow the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, […]