Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

ICT qualifications still in chaos due to delays

Teachers have accused the government of deliberately holding back approval for new ICT qualifications to force more pupils into the harder computing GCSE. Exam boards are still waiting to hear whether the updated ICT technical qualifications they submitted in March will get the go-ahead for September. The uncertainty makes it impossible to let pupils know […]

Schools told to develop ‘hack plan’ to avoid NHS cyber attack

Stringent “hack plans” must be developed by schools in the light of a global cyberattack that brought much of the NHS’s computer system to its knees last Friday. Security experts say teachers should not open links or attachments on laptops or phones connected to a school’s network in case the message is a fraud. Ken […]

The Tories have scored an own goal on universal free school meals

There is a strange sense of relief in hearing a policy you have criticised for years finally be scrapped. I have long since argued against universal free school meals, for many reasons. But the Tories may come to regret the manner in which they have ended this policy. Make no mistake. The policy remains a […]

Low-cost private schools ‘just waiting’ to enter English market

Companies that run for-profit private schools overseas are “waiting” for the right opportunity to set up in England as the market for low-fee schools becomes more promising, say investors. The future of private schools overseas was at the centre of a conference in central London last week run by Education Investor magazine. Panellist Paul Vincent […]

INVESTIGATION: Pregnant pupils are being moved to PRUs as cuts close services

Cuts to services that support pregnant pupils are leaving teachers having to act as “miracle workers”, with many schools shifting mothers-to-be into pupil referral units (PRUs) while keeping them on roll at their old school. An investigation by Schools Week has found at least three council services set up to support pupils parents have been […]

Secondary moderns have dramatically improved their Ofsted grades

More secondary moderns have moved from the lowest Ofsted ratings to good, leading some headteachers to say inspectors are recognising the impact of selection on their school data. Thirty times more secondary moderns were rated requires improvement or inadequate than grammar schools in 2013, a gap that has now narrowed to just ten times as […]

Ian Widdows, founder, National Association of Secondary Moderns

For a man who almost named his organisation the Society for the Prevention of Attacks on Secondary Moderns just to be able to abbreviate it to SPASM, Ian Widdows’ views on grammar schools should surely be straightforward. He is against them, right? Secondary moderns are the poor neighbours who take in the 11-plus failures, OK? […]

Brexit will be ‘top challenge’ for schools in coming years

Brexit will be one of the “top challenges” for schools in the next few years, hitting recruitment, funding and costs, says the head of policy at exam board Pearson. Steve Besley says that leaving the EU will mean fewer languages teachers, the end of European funding for local projects, and rising prices for resources and […]

Teachers ‘unable to prepare’ as DfE drags feet over approved qualifications

The Department for Education has given teachers conflicting messages about when an approved list of 2019 technical and vocational qualifications will be finalised, leading many unable to prepare their courses. The approved list of qualifications, which can count towards performance tables, was meant to be updated in March, but some qualification bodies are still waiting […]