Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

Cadet club growth slow in schools one year after £50m grant

Just five state schools have opened cadet clubs since former chancellor George Osborne announced a £50 million grant last year to boost the number of units five-fold. Figures obtained under a freedom of information (FOI) request reveal 129 state schools in England run the after-school cadet clubs, up five from the 124 recorded in 2015. […]

Soaring support staff pensions ‘could lead to outsourcing’

Multi-academy trust pension deficits for support staff are soaring into the tens of millions, with schools facing another hike in employer contributions, experts have warned. The largest trusts, one of which has a deficit in their Local Government Pension Scheme [LGPS] in excess of £68 million, might seek to balance costs by outsourcing non-teaching staff […]

Founders of Christian faith school resign after secular takeover

The founders of a Christian-ethos free school have resigned as trustees, citing anger at the government’s “lack of protection” for the institution’s religious character. Elizabeth Gray and John Burn have stepped away from the Grindon Hall Christian school in Sunderland as a lengthy takeover by the Bright Tribe academy trust nears its conclusion. The pair […]

EXCLUSIVE: 97 independent schools failed test to convert to free schools

Nearly 100 independent schools were rebuffed from opening a free school in the first wave of applications in 2010, Schools Week can exclusively reveal, throwing doubt on the government’s new proposals to encourage private schools into the state sector. Figures obtained by Schools Week show that 103 independent schools applied to join the first wave, but […]

Teacher training courses half empty as term approaches

The low number of trainees starting initial teacher training courses this year is “very concerning”, according to experts – with some subjects showing as half or less-than-half full on the government’s website. New figures released today by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) show the state of recruitment controls on the three main […]