Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

Over 40% of ‘underperforming’ schools improve when Progress 8 includes pupil background

More than 40 per cent of “underperforming” secondary schools would no longer fall into the category if progress measures were re-weighted to account for pupils’ backgrounds, new research reveals. And a fifth of secondary schools would see their position in national league tables change by more than 500 places, researchers at the University of Bristol […]

DfE: School improvement has ‘arrested or reversed’ in some sponsored academies

Converting schools to sponsored academies does not consistently cause pupil performance to get better – with school improvement actually being “arrested or reversed” in some cases, government research has found. An ad-hoc statistics release published by the Department for Education this morning found there is “substantial variation in performance and there are some schools with […]

EBacc target ‘out of our hands’, say heads

Ofsted’s decision to check schools are entering enough pupils for the EBacc suggests the inspectorate has a preferred “academic” curriculum and undermines school autonomy, say headteachers. They also say the proposal is unfair as a shortage of modern foreign language teachers takes a school’s ability to hit the government’s target out of its hands. Ofsted […]

Schools to split £2.5m funding for foreign exchange trips

Schools can apply for a slice of £2.5 million in government funding to take disadvantaged pupils on trips abroad, the Department for Education announced today. About 2,900 secondary school pupils are expected to be funded for either foreign exchanges with partner schools or trips abroad under the programme. It will be targeted at schools with […]

Ofsted framework: Heads warn audit culture will ‘switch’ to exercise books

Headteachers have dismissed Ofsted’s claims that its new inspection framework will reduce workload, warning that a proposed shift from internal data to pupils’ books will only create more problems. The watchdog has proposed that inspectors no longer look at schools’ internal assessment data, admitting that its collection can create extra work for teachers. Instead they […]

Exclusions: Ofsted will look more closely at ‘repeat’ patterns of suspension

Ofsted will look more closely at whether schools are “repeatedly” suspending or isolating the same pupils, under its new inspection framework. A school found to be using suspensions or fixed-term exclusions “inappropriately” would only then be able to achieve a “requires improvement” grade at most. But some teachers say schools need to be able to […]

Schools shut out from DfE music curriculum panel

The government has come under fire for choosing just three serving school leaders for its 14-strong panel that will develop its new “model” music curriculum. Nick Gibb, the schools minister, announced the panel members on Friday, saying that they would develop a non-compulsory “sequenced and structured template” in music for key stages 1, 2 and […]

New ‘witness charter’ to protect teachers in misconduct hearings

The Teaching Regulation Agency has drawn up a “witness charter” to protect teachers who give evidence in misconduct hearings. The agency has produced “standards of care” for witnesses and beefed-up guidance for staff on how to engage and handle issues arising from such hearings, Schools Week can reveal. It follows an independent internal review of […]

Stats watchdog rebukes School Cuts website for ‘misleading’ funding figures

The stats watchdog has rebuked the School Cuts website – run by a coalition of unions – for its use of “misleading” statistics that create a “worse picture” of school funding. The UK Statistics Authority has today stated the website’s claim that 91 per cent of schools are facing funding cuts gives a “misleading impression”. […]