John Dickens | Schools Week

DfE starts search for new Ofsted chair

The government has launched its search for a new Ofsted chair after David Hoare resigned following a backlash over controversial comments he made to teachers about the Isle of Wight. Hoare resigned as chair in August after he said the Isle of Wight was a “ghetto” where “there has been inbreeding” at a TeachFirst conference […]

Justine Greening shelves Education for All bill

Justine Greening has announced today she will shelve plans to force all schools in “unviable or underperforming” council areas into academies, with experts claiming the government has dropped the Education for All bill legislation altogether. Greening revealed her intentions in a written statement to Parliament this afternoon. She said there will be no changes to […]

DfE ordered to publish suppressed infant free school meals report

The Department for Education has been told it must publish a suppressed report that found small schools are struggling to meet the cost of providing free school meals. Schools Week revealed in January that ministers had refused to publish a report by the small schools taskforce into the viability of providing universal infant free school […]

Justine Greening: Strong case to keep teacher pay rises capped at 1 per cent

The education secretary wants teachers’ pay rises to be capped at an average of 1 per cent next year, despite experts previously warning the government of the need for a “significantly higher rise”. Justine Greening said there remains a “strong case for continued pay restraint in the public sector”, despite rising concerns of a school […]

25 free schools delayed each year

Nearly 25 free schools have delayed opening every year for the past three years, show figures released to Schools Week under freedom of information laws. And most of those delays are because of problems finding a suitable site, prompting the Department for Education (DfE) to overhaul how it awards opening dates for new projects. A […]

Rochford Review: Experts praise ‘brave’ proposals for new SEN assessment

The Rochford Review has finally published a list of 10 recommendations for the statutory assessment of pupils with special educational needs at primary school. The report, chaired by Diane Rochford, executive headteacher at John F Kennedy Academy, has been warmly welcomed by some members of the SEN teaching profession who have praised its “brave” recommendations […]

The 7 schools doing REALLY well on Progress 8

High-quality homework and tireless teachers are behind the soaring success of outlier schools leading the way in new Progress 8 scores, according to new analysis. Research by Education Datalab into the provisional key stage 4 data has identified seven secondary schools with Progress 8 scores above the +1 mark (listed below article). That means every […]

David Carter: The weakest academies will be supported not ‘shamed’

The country’s 100 weakest academies will be singled out for increased government scrutiny from January as the schools commissioner ramps up implementation of his masterplan to improve failing schools. Schools Week can reveal that the 100 secondary academies with the lowest Progress 8 scores, which we understand will be known as the “P100”, are to […]