John Dickens | Schools Week

Baverstock Academy closure on again after second government U-turn

An academy told it would close down before a volte-face from the schools commissioner has now been informed it will likely be shut down after all. Baverstock Academy, in Birmingham, was told by the government it could consult on closure, before this decision was reversed in October with the former West Midlands regional schools commissioner […]

DfE in danger of missing FOI request floor standard

The Department for Education is in danger of falling below the floor standard for meeting its legal duty to respond on time to information requests – although it has finally released a controversial grammar school document a year after claiming it did not hold the information. Figures published before Christmas show the department responded within […]

Government writes off £800,000 of free school funding

The government has written off £800,000 it was unable to claw back from free schools. Schools Week revealed last month that the DfE needed to claw back £11 million from more than 100 free schools after they failed to recruit the expected numbers of pupils in the past academic year. New free schools are initially […]

Wakefield trust walkout leaves special measures school in six-year limbo

A second trust given a slice of £5 million northern academy hub funding has walked away from a school in special measures – meaning it has now been in limbo waiting for a permanent sponsor for six years. The Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) will no longer sponsor Hanson academy, in Bradford, after it finishes […]

Identifying Trojan Horse witnesses would put off future whistleblowers, warns union

Teachers would be discouraged from coming forward to blow the whistle on wrongdoing in schools if the government breaks a promise to give Trojan Horse witnesses anonymity, a union has warned. The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) has asked the government to release the names of whistleblowers who gave evidence as part of […]

English teachers finally get research journal access similar to Scots

Teachers in England will finally be able to dodge hefty paywalls to use education research journals when the Chartered College of Teaching opens to members later this month. For two years Schools Week has highlighted how teachers in England have been forced to shell out for research journals, despite teachers in Scotland accessing academic journals […]

Free school wants ‘rogue’ Ofsted grade quashed after 10-week ‘turnaround’

A free school that tried to gag Ofsted from publishing an “inadequate” inspection now wants the grade quashed after it was rated “good” just ten school weeks after being put into special measures. Langley Hall Primary Academy, one of the country’s first free schools to open in 2011, lost a high court challenge to ban […]

DfE told its accounts lack ‘truth and fairness’ for second year running

The government’s spending watchdog has issued an adverse opinion on the Department for Education’s accounts for the second year running. The National Audit Office said the DfE group’s financial statements have a level of error and uncertainty that is “material and pervasive”. An adverse opinion is extremely rare, and shows that accounts are not a […]

College of Teaching announces 7 new trustees

The Chartered College of Teaching has appointed seven more teachers to its council. The new additions, who represent a variety of subjects and school types, join the 13 founding trustees. More than 100 people applied for the posts and were appointed by a committee which included Dame Alison Peacock, chief executive designate of the college. […]