John Dickens | Schools Week

Proposals for pioneering ‘low cost’ private school in England revealed

The architects behind proposals for a new ‘no frills’ private school that will charge parents just £52-a-week want to expand their “low cost” model across the UK should the pioneering plan win approval. The Independent Grammar School: Durham plans to open in September this year and charge parents less than £3,000-a-year for a “traditional private […]

Vicky Beer to stay on as RSC after departure U-turn

Vicky Beer, regional schools commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire, has made a dramatic U-turn on her decision to step down from the role to head up a new multi-academy trust. Schools Week revealed last week that Beer had resigned to become executive leader of the Greater Manchester Learning Trust (GMLT), which runs Parrs Wood school […]

Pupils able to request coursework results from 2018

Pupils will be able to request the results of their GCSE and A-level coursework from next year, Ofqual has announced today. The qualifications watchdog had delayed various decisions to the appeal process, due to be introduced last year, so it could consult further on the changes. But the watchdog has announced today pupils will be […]

Greening promises QTS won’t be scrapped, and 7 key findings from her College of Teaching conference speech

Justine Greening has promised qualified teacher status will not be scrapped amid concerns the entry-bar into teaching is being lowered, instead insisting a “newly-strengthened” QTS route will be introduced in 2019. The education secretary also revealed today that new “gold standard” national professional qualifications focusing on evidence-based learning will be launched in September, and will […]

Revealed: The academy trust behind a £200k severance deal

The Great Academies Education Trust, set up by a housing group, has paid £200,000 severance to a former employee – one of the largest exit payments recorded by an academy. The trust was not named when the Department for Education (DfE) revealed the bumper pay-off in its first academy sector finance report published in November […]

Two for-profit sponsors back out of academy market

Two academy trusts set up by for-profit providers that have made millions running schools across the globe have ended their sponsorship of English academies. The Erudition Schools Trust is in liquidation after its three schools in the Midlands were rebrokered to new trusts last year. Erudition was sponsored by K12, a firm founded by a […]

11 academy trusts close their doors

Eleven multi-academy trusts handed at least £770,000 of government start-up funding are set to fold after their schools were transferred to other chains. An analysis of figures detailing every academy rebrokering in the past two years, obtained by Schools Week, shows an increasing number of trusts have been wound-up. The largest is Navigate Academies Trust, […]

Booming academy transfer market pushes costs to potential £30m

More than 100 schools are now rebrokered every year as the booming academy transfer market pushes costs to a potential £30 million. Figures obtained by Schools Week have revealed 235 academies were handed to new trusts in the past two calendar years, up from just 26 in 2014. Rebrokering costs are not routinely published, but […]

Resignations and husbands: how RSC conflicts are coming to the fore

The fourth resignation of a regional schools commissioner in the past 19 months illustrates how the government is doing little more than using “sticking plasters” to deal with conflicts of interest, says a union official. Vicky Beer, the schools commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire, earlier this week announced that she was stepping down to […]