Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

Deficit gap widens between LA schools and academies

Local authority-maintained schools are increasingly slipping into deficit as funding pressures continue to bite, new research has found. A report by the Education Policy Institute reveals the proportion of maintained secondary schools in deficit has trebled in the last four years – from 8.8 per cent in 2013-14 to 26.1 per cent in 2016-17. The […]

Failing private schools to get three months to improve or close

Private schools that fail to meet the government’s standards will be given three months to improve or they will be closed under proposed new rules in a consultation released today. The government wants additional powers to intervene in failing private schools. Any school found to be failing to meet the “independent school standards” – the […]

Reception staff ‘increasingly unpaid and underqualified’, warns EPI

Schools are increasingly taking on unpaid and underqualified reception staff, new research has found. Analysis by the Education Policy Institute of the annual childcare and early-years providers’ survey and government data found that fewer reception staff now have or work towards early-years qualifications, and the proportion of volunteer staff has increased. The think-tank also warned […]

Where are new Catholic schools most likely to open?

New Catholic schools are most likely to open in London and the east of England if the cap on faith-based schools is lifted. The highest levels of immigration from Catholic countries are to the capital and East Anglia – so the Catholic Education Service expects the demand for new faith schools will be most acute […]

Teachers for pupils in care must have ‘trauma’ training

Schools must appoint and train a member of staff to spot the mental health needs of pupils who have been in the care system, according to new statutory guidance. Under the new rules, school governors must ensure they have a “designated teacher” trained to “understand trauma and attachment” issues, as well as spot special educational […]

WCAT school left without sponsor over £1 million-a-year PFI contract

A private finance initiative contract costing more than £1 million a year has stopped one of the last schools left from the collapsed Wakefield City Academies Trust from finding a new home. Mexborough Academy is one of the last two of WCAT’s 21 schools left without a new sponsor since the trust’s collapse in September. […]

United Learning boss rules out taking costly PFI schools ‘ever again’

One of the largest academy chains in England has refused to take on any new schools with costly PFI contracts because it has “barely any control” over the buildings. The 51-school United Learning has declined to adopt the struggling Sedgehill School in Lewisham, south-east London, which council documents show has a debt of over £1 […]

Free school threatens legal action over closure plan

A strapped-for-cash free school has threatened to take the government to court over its decision to close it just one week after Ofsted praised its new leaders and found pupils “highly” valued their places. The 14-to-19 Robert Owen Academy in Herefordshire, which has been in special measures for almost three years, has criticised thecommunication between […]

Private school inspectors are rubber-stamping failing leaders

Private school inspectors are passing certain school leaders even if in their own reports note they are failing, Ofsted has warned. The watchdog has delivered a mixed verdict on the Independent Schools Inspectorate, the inspection body for members of the Independent Schools Council, after its annual sample check of its reports. Ofsted was only able […]