Author: Jess Staufenberg

A legal loophole means sixth forms can get away with pushing out low-attaining pupils halfway through their A-levels – leaving other schools to pick up the pieces. The law prevents mainstream schools from excluding pupils on the basis of academic performance, however government guidance makes clear this does not apply to 16-19 free schools or […]

The government is facing a legal challenge over its SEND funding cuts, as councils around the country are also being taken to court because of plans to slash services. Families representing two boys with special educational needs – under the campaign SEND Family Action – are crowdfunding a legal challenge against education secretary Damian Hinds […]

A “national quality mark” for textbooks could reduce workload and confusion for teachers, says a leading assessment expert. The Department for Education is in talks with publishers about approving some textbooks and resources over others, Schools Week understands. The rumour has fuelled fears that the government might expand a scheme used to choose maths resources […]

Headteachers staged a calm but determined march to Downing Street this morning, devoid of loud chanting but turning up in their numbers to make their point to ministers. Schools Week joined hundreds of school leaders at 11am underneath the statue of Churchill in Parliament Square as they held their placards held high while camera crews […]

A school has warned it is unable to predict the exact cost of a trip abroad because the government has not come up with a clear Brexit plan yet – with an MP warning pupils are at risk of missing out on “enriching activities”. Elthorne Park High School in west London has written a letter […]

The beleaguered Bright Tribe academy trust has confirmed that its final six schools will be re-brokered, with the trust expected to close down. The academy chain, which ran 10 schools in north and east of England, has confirmed that the government is finding new homes for all of them. Schools Week first revealed in July […]

Graduates with 2:2 degrees who train to become religious education, history, design technology and music teachers will receive bursaries under new government recruitment plans. The Department for Education has announced it is extending its bursaries scheme to graduates with lower-class degrees who train in the four subjects from 2019-20. At the moment, bursaries are only […]

Ofsted has refused to back down after a Twitter spat where one of its top officials said it was “impossible” to work with a union that constantly calls for the inspectorate to be abolished. Sean Harford, director of education at Ofsted, tweeted that Mary Bousted’s leadership of the National Education Union was preventing dialogue between […]

The government says it will continue to measure the success of its reforms on Pisa scores despite schools minister Nick Gibb hitting out at the organisation that produces them for becoming “too political”. In an interview this month Gibb accused the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which publishes the international rankings, of pushing a […]