John Dickens | Schools Week

Is it the system that needs to change, or school leaders?

Katy Theobald went to the other side of the world to learn about innovative education systems. What she found was innovative schools… Educators have been working hard in the past decade to meet the increasing expectations set for them by government. Whether it was the shift from levels to expected standards at key stage 2, […]

Substance over style is the key to great school leadership

Researchers’ shift in the consensus on school leadership is welcome, but the conversation doesn’t end here. A focus on the expertise of school leaders – rather than their individual traits or generic management competency – is a better route to improving education, argues Tom Rees The renewed debate around school leadership is an important one. […]

DfE silent on Education Fellowship Trust’s payouts

The government has refused to explain why a now defunct academy trust set aside more than £100,000 for golden handshake pay-offs. Overdue accounts for the Education Fellowship Trust, which is in the process of being wound up after giving away its 12 schools, reveal that £217,000 was spent on staff restructuring costs last year. However, […]

Here’s how exclusions accountability could work …

The Timpson review is an attempt to address a small but significant issue; the pretence of school improvement through cohort change with a consequential negative impact on children and young people’s life chances. Recommendation 14 reads, “DfE should make schools responsible for the children they exclude and accountable for their educational outcomes . . .” […]

Turnaround school leaders must be able to exclude to keep pupils safe

There is much to admire about Edward Timpson’s review of school exclusions, starting with his clear statement that schools must be calm and safe places, with strong behaviour cultures. Every parent wants their child to go to a school that is safe and where learning can take place in an orderly environment. Parents should not […]

Timpson exclusions review: the 7 things you need to know

The Department for Education is set to finally publish the Timpson review into exclusions today. The government has released its executive summary of the report, which includes the 30 recommendations ministers have agreed to implement “in principle”. We’ve been through and picked out the key things you need to know. 1. No proposals yet […]

Martyn Oliver, chief executive of the Outwood Grange Academies Trust

OGAT, saviour of many schools in the north, can’t seem to shake criticism of its strict behaviour sanctions and their effect on vulnerable pupils. But are things changing? Martyn Oliver, its chief executive, speaks to John Dickens Outwood Grange Academies Trust has built its reputation on being the turnaround trust. It takes on some […]

Ofsted’s evidence is so unfounded that their case for retaining grades collapses

Ofsted’s defence of its four-point grading scheme in its recent paper (Retaining the current grading system in education, April 2019) has two, but only two, positive features. First, it acknowledges that there are strong arguments against its use of these grades. Second, it admits that “we have never directly asked (parents) about the four-point grading […]

OGAT under fire for plans to make misbehaving pupils repeat a year

An academy trust is under fire for its new behaviour policy that states poorly-behaved pupils will be kept behind a year until they improve. One lawyer said Outwood Grange Academies Trust’s plans have “no lawful basis” and are an “effective way of getting [pupils] to leave”. The trust’s new behaviour policy states pupils who don’t […]