John Dickens | Schools Week

Private schools want £55m funding to offer 10,000 places for low-income pupils

Private schools want to offer up to 10,000 places to low-income families every year – as long as the government provides £55 million to fund the scheme. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) has this morning announced proposals to create new places for families unable to afford private school fees. The ISC wants the government to […]

Investigation: Who should we believe on data?

After months of covering stories on new rules requiring schools to collect information on pupils’ nationality and limits on researcher freedoms, new information came to light last week providing new perspective. Reporters John Dickens and Freddie Whittaker investigate. Two-day research embargo: where are we now? The government justified a new diktat ordering education academics […]

Did Theresa May mislead parliament on grammars?

Prime minister Theresa May has been accused of misleading MPs by “over-spinning” an independent research report that she claimed had said reintroducing grammar schools would be “potentially transformative”. May used a report, commissioned by the Labour-run Knowsley borough council, to rebut concerns raised by former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell that the government’s focus on […]

Newham schools consider suing council over £500k PFI costs

Two schools are considering high court action to settle a row with their local authority over a disputed PFI bill they claim has stalled their academy conversion. Rokeby School and Lister Community School, in the London borough of Newham, want to convert and form a multi-academy trust, with plans to take over the Newham Collegiate […]

Bright Tribe walks away from struggling schools in north

A trust has pulled out of sponsoring two struggling schools in the north of England – despite being given extra cash by ministers to help in such circumstances. Bright Tribe has walked away from taking over Fyndoune community college and Durham community business college, which form a federation in north-east England. The secondaries were put […]

Ofsted sticks school in special measures, criticising ‘messy’ talks over academy status

A school whose academy conversion hit the buffers over its controversial PFI deal has been put in special measures. Noel-Baker school, in Derby, has been rated inadequate in every category with inspectors blaming “messy” talks over academy status having a “negative impact on vital school improvement work”. The local authority-maintained school was built as part […]

Empty free schools owe government £11m

The government needs to claw back £11 million from more than 100 free schools after they failed to recruit expected numbers of pupils. New free schools are initially funded on anticipated numbers for the upcoming year. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) then reviews how many are on roll at the end of that year and […]

GCSE resits soar as students rush to last-chance retakes

The number of students taking GCSE resits in English and maths has soared by nearly a quarter as youngsters rush to seize the penultimate chance to retake exams before the new grading system is introduced. Figures published by Ofqual today show the overall entry for resits in GCSE English, English language and maths rose from […]

Nationality data was ‘compromise’ on Theresa May’s school immigration check plan

Controversial new government rules ordering schools to collect nationality data of pupils were introduced as a compromise to curb stricter plans for teachers to carry out immigration checks and deprioritise immigrant pupils. Leaked cabinet letters obtained by the BBC, published today, show Theresa May, while home secretary, wrote to the Department for Education last year outlining proposals […]