John Dickens | Schools Week

Government ‘propping up’ free schools with loans

The government has been accused of propping up under-subscribed free schools with “interest-free loans”, while academies and council schools are left to struggle on without extra cash. It comes after new figures seen by Schools Week reveal the government overpaid free schools by more than £28 million in the past three years. New free schools […]

Government makes SATs an easier ride after ‘fiasco’ last year

The government has simplified questions in this year’s primary SATs after reports that last year’s tests left pupils in tears. Schools Week has learnt that the Standards and Testing Agency has made the questions early on in this year’s tests for 10 and 11-year-olds slightly easier. The agency has also assessed the structure of the […]

Where will the next wave of free schools be? We still don’t know…

Free school applicants claim they have been “left in the dark” by the delay in announcing the latest successful bids. Schools Week understands the names of successful wave 12 proposals were due to be announced at the beginning of March, but applicants are still waiting to hear if they have got the go-ahead. The delay […]

Ofsted launches official ‘good’ logo in policy U-turn

Ofsted has launched a new “good” logo for schools to display on their websites and in literature – just seven months after vowing to clamp down on schools using bogus logos for grade two ratings. Investigations by Schools Week and sister paper FE Week last year revealed how hundreds of schools were using bogus “good” […]

Schools have 12 months to publish gender pay gap statistics

New rules requiring academy trusts and schools with more than 250 workers to publish their gender pay gap statistics kick in today. Employers that fall under the new requirement have until April next year to publish figures on their websites, as part of a government pledge to champion gender equality. Statistics will then have to […]

Baseline provider ‘surprised’ at DfE preference for formal reception test

Early Excellence, the popular baseline assessment provider whose observation-based model was favoured by 70 per cent of primary schools, is “surprised” by the government’s preference for a test-based approach for assessing reception pupils. The Department for Education (DfE) last week announced it wants to scrap key stage 1 SATs and potentially replace them with a […]

Union demands say in teacher apprenticeships to avoid ‘exploitation’

Union leaders are demanding more of a say in the development of a new teaching apprenticeship to ensure it’s not “exploited” by cash-strapped schools. Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, admitted she was “extremely concerned” about the new one-year vocational route into teaching currently under development. The apprenticeship is […]

Ministers urged to clamp down on all-powerful academy CEOs

Ministers have been urged to clamp down on over-powerful academy bosses after an investigation found one chief executive sacked the trust chair who suspended him. Ian Cleland, chief executive and founding member of the Academies Transformation Trust (ATT), was put on temporary leave by chair Stephen Tilsley last year over finance concerns. Forecasts showed the […]

School performance tracker RAISEonline to be scrapped in July

The Department for Education will scrap its RAISEonline programme used by schools to compare performance data in favour of a new, as yet unnamed, system later this year. Schools were informed of the change this morning in an email that also said the RAISEonline helpdesk will close today. The email stated the new service should […]