Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

Over a third of parents asked for school donations, survey finds

More than a third of parents have been asked to donate money to their child’s school, according to a new survey by PTA UK, a charity which represents a network of parent associations in schools. Education leaders have said the findings again expose the “inadequacy of school funding”. Of 1,514 parents surveyed, 37 per cent […]

Ministers urged to drop DBS check rules ‘killing off’ school language exchanges

Education leaders are set to meet the schools minister and urge him to amend new guidance on criminal record checks that they claim are “killing off” school exchange trips. It follows confusion from school leaders about what they are legally responsible for after the government tweaked its Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance in September. […]

Multi-academy trusts spend less on ‘back office’ but don’t pay teachers more … and 6 other EPI findings

Schools in multi-academy trusts spend less on “back office” costs and more on primary teaching staff, compared to standalone academies and local authority schools. Primary schools in multi-academy trusts spend £23 more on teaching staff per pupil than local authority schools, according to a new report from the Education Policy Institute. And secondary schools in MATs spend […]

Brett Wigdortz to step down as Teach First chief executive

Teach First founder Brett Wigdortz will step down as chief executive of the teacher training charity at the end of October. Wigdortz founded Teach First 15 years ago and was recently named in Debrett’s list of the most influential people in education this year. He masterminded the business plan for the elite teacher training programme […]

Heads claim school budgets will be ‘untenable’ in two years’ time

Nearly two-thirds of school leaders believe their budgets will be “untenable” in two years’ time, a survey has revealed. The Breaking Point survey, published by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), also found more than double the number of schools say they were in debt compared to the previous year. Most of the schools […]

Passivhaus schools claim to reduce energy costs by 80 per cent

The first secondary school to use energy-saving Passivhaus design principles is set to be built for the Harris Federation in south London. Its design could help to reduce costs by 70 to 90 per cent “post-completion” compared with a normal school, Schools Week has learned. Eleven schools in England are built on the architectural principle […]

Academy chain leader ‘won’t rule out’ expansion of grammar streams

A Wiltshire academy that started a “grammar stream”, giving a small group of children access to specialist teachers and lectures at a nearby private school, will continue the project for at least another year and may expand the model. Swindon academy last year launched an “elite” academic curriculum for up to 30 pupils to access subject-specialist […]

Amanda Spielman appoints former Nicky Morgan special adviser to Ofsted

Amanda Spielman, new head of Ofsted, has appointed Nicky Morgan’s former special adviser to her team. Luke Tryl, who was appointed as special adviser to the former education secretary in July 2014, has been hired by Spielman to take the new post of director of corporate strategy. Tryl was head of education at gay rights […]

Language exchange trips ‘killed’ off by safeguarding worries and costs

Schools trying to organise language exchange trips face increasing hurdles including costs, visas and “unclear” government guidance on safeguarding, according to speakers at a Westminster education forum held today in London. The “dull” content of modern foreign languages lessons, which one delegate said was “intellectually insulting” to pupils, was being made worse by a decline […]