John Dickens | Schools Week

Ofsted drops letters praising ‘exceptional’ heads

Ofsted has dropped a commitment to send letters to headteachers doing an “exceptional turnaround job” at other schools after just one year and only five letters sent. The scheme was introduced by former chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw in September 2015 as a way to recognise heads “taking risks, putting themselves out and disseminating good […]

Ofsted announces school curriculum investigation amid gaming ‘scandal’

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman is set to announce a major investigation into whether schools are delivering a broad curriculum amid a gaming “scandal”. Spielman will tell Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) conference delegates later today a conflict has emerged between a head’s desire to give pupils the right education, and to improve […]

More heads consider resigning over funding cuts

More experienced headteachers are ready to resign over budget cuts that would “decimate” their schools, it was claimed today. Richard Slade, headteacher of Plumcroft Primary School, in Greenwich, said the government is facing a headteacher recruitment crisis because of the crippling funding cuts. Mary Sandell resigned last month as headteacher of The Forest School, in […]

Ofsted ‘double inspection’ pilot thwarted after inspectors ‘spoke frequently’

Ofsted had to beef up safeguards during its double inspection reliability study after inspectors, who were supposed to independently come to final judgments, were found to be discussing their findings, according to a report released by the inspectorate today. The education watchdog has this morning published the findings of its tests on the reliability of […]

Spielman: Inspection reliability study is ‘just first step’ of Ofsted research push

Amanda Spielman has pledged to continue ‘inspecting the inspectors’ as part of a new Ofsted research drive after publishing a landmark reliability study. The education watchdog has this morning published the findings of its reliability study on short inspections – where two inspectors were sent to the same school to see if they gave the […]

Council education boss appointed new RSC for East Midlands and Humber

A council education director has been named as the new regional schools commissioner for the East Midlands and the Humber. John Edwards, director of education and skills at Manchester city council, will take over from Jennifer Bexon-Smith, who is set to retire later this year. Edwards said he hopes to “make a real difference to […]

Delayed review of older teachers requests extra evidence

A government review on the implications of teachers working until their late 60s wants to gather more evidence – despite being published a year late. The Department for Education finally released the interim report from its Teachers Working Longer review last Friday. The review was set up in October 2014 to make sure pension age […]

Wealthy academy sponsors safeguard school trips amid funding squeeze

Donations from wealthy sponsors are helping academy trusts to safeguard school trips, breakfast clubs and sports competitions as other schools are forced to axe provision as the funding squeeze bites. Ark Schools tops the table with its hedge fund sponsors handing over £6.2 million last year, an average of more than £150,000 for each of […]

DfE funds £1m for Ofsted illegal schools taskforce

The government has committed a further £1 million to fund Ofsted’s team that investigates illegal schools, despite the watchdog still failing to bring a single prosecution against an unregistered school. Initially funded for one year, the illegal schools team was created after former chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw last year warned that pupils in hidden […]