Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

CEOs at tiny academy trusts paid more than big-chain bosses

Chief executives at some small academy trusts are raking in salaries as high as those with 10 times the schools under their control. Exclusive Schools Week analysis has found 11 trusts with just two schools which nevertheless pay their leaders more than £150,000 per year. In fact, 40 per cent of the 87 multi-trusts told […]

Weak schools will get longer breather between Ofsted inspections

Schools with “serious weaknesses” will get an additional year to turn around their fortunes under changes announced by Ofsted today. The watchdog will increase the maximum time between inspections of ‘inadequate’-rated schools that are considered by inspectors to have serious weaknesses – from 18 months to “up to 30 months”. The ‘serious weakness’ label is […]

Men get promoted more quickly, and 4 other findings from new school leadership research

The proportion of women appointed to leadership roles in schools is rising, but men are still being promoted more quickly, new analysis shows. The Department for Education has published a new report on the 2016 school workforce census, comparing the positions held by men and women, ethnic minorities, and younger and older teachers. More teachers […]

Out-of-school settings won’t be forced to register – for now

The government has abandoned a years-old proposal to force out-of-school settings to register with councils following a fierce backlash from faith leaders. Instead, a voluntary code of practice will be drawn up, to ensure pupils are “kept safe” in out-of-school settings like madrasas and yeshivas while further evidence is gathered on the need for compulsory […]

‘Positive’ Jobcentre careers advice scheme lacks funding to expand

A careers programme which links Jobcentre staff with pupils does not have enough resources to expand, despite a positive response from teachers at many of the 1,200 schools that have taken part. The Support for Schools programme has been “received positively” by teachers and should now expand to meet rising demand, according to a report published […]

Former Gove adviser Sam Freedman leaves Teach First to join Ark

A former adviser to Michael Gove is leaving Teach First to head up the overseas operation for a leading multi-academy trust. Sam Freedman, an executive director at Teach First, will take over as chief executive of Ark’s education partnerships group (EPG), which works with governments to improve education in developing countries, in June. He leaves […]

DfE announces £500 million for academy buildings

The government has announced £514 million to help expand and improve buildings and facilities at around 1,300 academies and sixth-form colleges. The ‘Condition improvement fund’ supports expansion building works at academies rated ‘good’ or better by Ofsted, and more minor improvements at others.. In total, 1,556 projects will get a share of the fund, which is […]

Two schools warned over cultures of bullying and poor behaviour

Two academies have been warned their funding could be cut as a result of multiple problems, including a “culture of bullying” at one and of “poor behaviour” at the other. Sue Baldwin, the regional schools commissioner for the east of England and north-east London, has handed “minded to terminate” notices to Felixstowe Academy in Suffolk […]

Six things we learned from the Public Accounts Committee’s damning report into academies

Rules on related-party transactions are “too weak to prevent abuse,” a powerful Commons committee has concluded. The public accounts committee today published its assessment of academy trust finances and the regulations in place to prevent malpractice. But the committee has blasted the Department for Education for a range of issues, including the fact its own […]