John Dickens | Schools Week

Ministers will make it easier to ‘try out’ teaching as survey shows appetite for career change

The government has pledged to make it easier for prospective teachers to try the job, after a new survey revealed two in five people believe they would make a good teacher. A survey of more than 3,000 people for the government’s Get Into Teaching campaign, published today, also found more than half would probably or […]

Inspiration Trust hikes top-slice from school budgets to cover curriculum team costs

A high-profile academy trust has nearly doubled the amount it top-slices from its secondary schools’ budgets to fund an ambitious curriculum overhaul. Schools Week reported last year how the Inspiration Trust had appointed eight subject specialists – described as “some of the country’s leading educational thinkers” – to develop its own “knowledge-led” curriculum. The trust […]

Damian Hinds challenges all schools to go single-use plastic free by 2022

Education secretary Damian Hinds has challenged all schools to eliminate using single-use plastics by 2022 – urging school leaders to shun plastic bags, straws and bottles in favour of sustainable alternatives. Hinds said schools can “lead by example” in the government’s drive to reduce plastic waste, including by starting conversations with pupils about the effects […]

Top trusts ‘resist’ standardising curriculum, and 6 more MAT research findings

High-performing multi-academy trusts and federations of schools are resisting rolling out prescriptive practices for curriculum and pedagogy, a study has found. The Sustainable improvement in multi-school groups report, published on Thursday, was written by professor Toby Greany, formerly professor of leadership and innovation at the UCL Institute of Education and now at the University of […]

Barring pupils with fewer than three Ds ‘access to student loans’ is ‘retrograde step’

Leaked proposals that would deny student loans to pupils who achieve fewer than three Ds in their A-levels have been branded a “retrograde step” by school leaders. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the independent review of higher education, chaired by former investment banker Philip Augar, is expected to recommend proposals to shake-up the university […]

Investigation: The schools that slip through the council finance net

Thousands of council schools have not had their finances independently scrutinised for more than five years – three of which were last audited by their local authority nearly 20 years ago. Schools Week can also reveal that council schools have been breaking rules over tax checks, issuing contracts and unauthorised pay rises for staff. And […]

Hinds urges Ofsted to ensure new MAT evaluations aren’t ‘undue burdens’

Education secretary Damian Hinds has warned Ofsted its new academy trust “summary evaluations” must not create “undue burdens” on schools, as new details of the evaluations are released. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman revealed earlier this month the watchdog was introducing a new inspection regime for academy trusts. In its annual report, the watchdog said […]

Exams boards told to ‘strengthen controls’ after ‘unwarranted’ rise in BTEC grades

Ofqual is urging exam boards to “strengthen their controls” on certain types of applied general qualifications, after it uncovered evidence of grade inflation on old-style BTECs. Its research into the “legacy” level three BTECs, which don’t include any external assessment, found that the proportion of people gaining the highest grades on some of these courses […]

Nearly half of primaries score poorly on curriculum quality, new Ofsted study shows

Nearly half of all primary schools scored poorly in Ofsted’s latest curriculum study – with an apparent focus on English and maths sidelining foundation subjects. For instance, seven of the 33 primaries schools visited by the inspectorate under phase 3 of its curriculum study, published today, had a “complete absence” of curriculum design in humanities. […]