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22 April 2026

Author: John Dickens

‘Orphan’ school shunned by 3 sponsors rated ‘inadequate’ – again

An “orphan” school that has been waiting nine years for a sponsor after being shunned by three academy trusts has been rated ‘inadequate’ again. Ofsted inspectors found a “sizeable minority” of pupils at Hanson School, in Bradford, do not “regularly follow the rules”, with disadvantaged youngsters not achieving “as well as they should”. The 1,600-pupil […]

‘Supersized’ trust investigated by government just 14 months after opening with 10 schools

A ‘supersized’ trust was investigated by the government over allegations relating to financial management just 14 months after opening from scratch with 10 schools. The Education and Skills Funding Agency investigated the Galileo Multi-Academy Trust in June last year following concerns over its finance and governance, it has emerged. Business interests were not always recorded […]

Ofsted: New ‘school visits’ will allow ‘appropriate challenge without passing judgment’

Ofsted has said its new school “visits” will allow inspectors to provide “appropriate challenge” to school leaders without “passing judgement”. It was confirmed last week that proper Ofsted inspections will not start again until January next year at the earliest. But Ofsted will start to “visit” schools after the summer holidays to “reassure parents, ministers […]

DfE finally confirms £320m PE and sport premium will continue next year

The government has finally confirmed that the £320 million PE and sport premium will continue next year. Furthermore, any unspent sport premium because of the coronavirus this year can be brought forward into 2020-21. School leaders have been waiting months for confirmation on whether the cash will continue. The government confirmed continuation of the fund […]

DfE mulls enforcing remote learning expectations

Education secretary Gavin Williamson will consider ordering schools to provide a minimum level of remote education should their area go into local lockdown in autumn. In its reopening guidance, published today, the Department for Education said it expected schools to have the capacity to offer “immediate remote education” should a group of pupils need to […]

Ofqual reveals proposals for exams in 2021

Ofqual has today published its consultation on how exams could look in 2021. The consultation is open until Thursday 16 July, with final decisions announced in August. Here’s what’s being considered.   1. Trimming subjects to free up teaching time… Ofqual has proposed adaptations in a number of subjects to give teachers more time to […]

Speed read: The curriculum and behaviour expectations for schools in September

The Department for Education has published its guidance for getting all pupils back in school in September. Here’s your trusty Schools Week summary of everything you need to know about what the guidance says on curriculum and behaviour. (Our speed read on the government’s safety plans is here, and the full DfE guidance is here). […]

Summer clubs given go-ahead to run in schools – but group singing discouraged

Schools can host summer clubs during the holidays for children of all year groups – but group singing is discouraged. The government has published guidance today after pledging last week that providers running community activities, holiday and after-school clubs and other out-of-school provision can operate over the summer. The guidance states that, when state schools in […]