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20 April 2026

Author: John Dickens

DfE denies ‘achieving excellence areas’ policy has been delayed

The government has denied its ambitious plans to provide extra support for schools in struggling areas have been delayed while Theresa May considers whether to lift a ban on grammar schools. Achieving excellence areas was a key policy unveiled in the recent white paper that pledged to inject extra cash and support into priority areas identified as […]

£2bn fund revealed for DfE free school property company

A company set up by the Department for Education (DfE) to buy new free school sites will be given a £2 billion warchest to ensure it delivers 500 new schools by 2020. Schools Week revealed last month that the department has set up a company, called LocatED, to take over responsibility for finding and purchasing new […]

Ofsted text scam warning

Ofsted has warned the education community to be vigilant after a childminder was targeted by fraudsters in a text scam. The education watchdog issued guidance on Wednesday after a childminder had received a text from someone posing as Ofsted and asking her to call a mobile phone number. However when the victim called the line she […]

Council considers ditching polling station role for school in deprived town

A council will review its use of an infant school in one of the country’s most deprived areas as a polling station after governors complained vulnerable pupils were losing a “precious day of learning”. Glodwick infant and nursery school, in Oldham, had to shut twice this year so its nursery school could became a makeshift polling station […]

Report reveals formula for producing best middle leaders

Think tank LKMco has today published the findings of an in-depth investigation into the key characteristics of effective middle leaders. Researchers analysed the leadership competency self-assessments of fellows from the charity Teaching Leaders and also interviewed scores of middle leaders (heads of year and heads of departments) to inform their findings. Report author Sam Baars has also […]

Delayed free school cancelled over site issues

A free school plagued by delays has now been scrapped without teaching a single pupil after problems finding a site – raising questions about the feasibility of delivering David Cameron’s pledge to open 500 new schools by 2020. Gladstone School was due to open in September 2014, but was forced to delay its opening two years running after the Department […]

Gibb dodges grammar schools question

Schools minister Nick Gibb dodged a question on whether he thinks new grammar schools should be allowed to open, despite pleas from the education community for the government to ditch the idea. Gibb was probed on whether the government should remove a ban on new grammar schools, thought to be something being weighed up by Prime Minister […]