Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

Ofsted: Small private school leaders don’t know how to improve teaching

Small private schools are not failing Ofsted inspections because they refuse to teach British values, as the media has suggested, but because their leaders are often unqualified and don’t know how to improve teaching. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting 1,080 non-association private schools, schools that don’t belong to a membership organisation like the Independent Schools […]

Government has 68 days to stop universal credit roll-out ‘poisoning’ January school census

School census data showing how many pupils are on free school meals will be “useless” for the next seven years if the government continues to roll out a new benefits model inconsistently across the country, a social mobility charity has warned. The government has 68 days to make sure two different ways of ascribing benefits […]

Former education secretary launches programme for pupils in care

The former education secretary Ruth Kelly has launched a tutoring programme to improve the “terrible” exam results of pupils in care, as the numbers taken from their families continue to rise. Kelly, who was Labour education secretary between 2004 and 2006, has established the First Star Academy programme for pupils in care at six local […]

SEND pupils ‘pushed out’ of mainstream schools, new data shows

More pupils with statements of special educational needs or education health and care plans (EHCPs) are increasingly being “pushed out” of mainstream schools into special schools, new data from a national charity has revealed. Analysis of government statistics by the National Association of Special Educational Needs, whose members include special schools and special educational needs coordinators […]

Embed National Citizen Service in lessons, schools told

Schools are being encouraged to “embed” the promotion of the National Citizen Service in PSHE and citizenship lessons, amid fears it will continue to miss its own recruitment targets. Non-statutory guidance issued to schools today encourages them to get more involved with the programme, which focuses on outward-bound trips and community work in holidays, and […]

King’s Lynn Academy hit with termination warning notice

An academy in Norfolk could have its funding terminated over concerns about its performance, but the government’s warning has only just been published, more than nine months after it was sent. The Department for Education has today published a termination warning notice for King’s Lynn Academy, exactly nine months and six days after it was […]

Private schools should join multi-academy trusts, says ISC chair

Private schools should consider joining multi-academy trusts (MATs) to save money, according to the chair of the Independent Schools Council. Barnaby Lenon said today that private schools would do well to talk to MATs such as United Learning, which combines a mix of state and private schools. He believes they can make savings on back-office costs […]

Schools turn to new IT course in droves after ECDL scrapped

The number of schools offering a level two IT qualification has shot up after teachers have turned to the course in droves as an alternative to the discredited European computing driving licence. Last year, 7,769 schools registered to run the level two qualification in IT user skills in open systems and enterprise, but this year […]

Teaching assistants allowed to gain QTS through assessment-only route

The number of teachers qualifying through a 12-week “assessment-only” route is rising, fuelling fears that providers are letting applicants without proper experience qualify for a price. Two years ago 912 people were awarded QTS through assessment alone, but that figure rose by 13 per cent to 1,034 last year, new data obtained by Schools Week […]