John Dickens | Schools Week

Candidates announced for RSC headteacher board elections

The Department for Education has today released the full list of candidates standing in the election to become a headteacher board member. The eight boards are made up headteachers and senior leaders from academies, who advise regional school commissioners on key decisions, including on school takeovers. There are three positions up for grabs on each […]

University access gap between poor pupils and their peers widens

The gap between poor pupils and their richer peers gaining a place at university has increased, a new study has found. Widening participation in higher education figures published today show that 24 per cent of pupils on free school meals went on to study at university in 2014-15. That compares to 41 per cent of […]

Giving schools extra money only boosts attainment by a ‘fraction’, DfE study finds

Handing schools extra money only boosts the attainment of pupils by a “fraction”, a new Department for Education (DfE) study has found. Researchers also found that school budget cuts don’t appear to have made much difference to pupil results – suggesting schools are stepping up to the challenge of operating with less cash. The DfE […]

Schools avoid budget cuts for A-level drop-outs

Schools teaching new decoupled A-levels will avoid being hit by budget cuts if their student drops out before completing the two-year course after the government tweaked funding rules. Under current funding rules, if a student fails to finish their course – regardless of whether they achieve the qualification – the funding is halved via a […]

Tougher words on academy pay are welcome, but we need action

The Department for Education’s move to toughen up rules over academy trust executive pay and good governance is welcome, but it misses two crucial points, argues Gillian Allcroft. The academies financial handbook is updated annually and describes the principles of good financial management and governance that all academies should abide by. This latest version […]

Toby Young’s flagship academy trust ditches ‘free school’ from its name

An academy trust set up by the long-standing free school advocate Toby Young has changed its name, dropping the term ‘free school’ in the process. The West London Free School Academy Trust (WLFSAT) will now be known as the Knowledge Schools Trust. The trust runs fours schools in west London, and is due to open […]

Ethnically mixed schools boost integration, but the lunchtime divide still exists

Pupils have less “anxiety” towards peers from other ethnic groups when they are taught in mixed schools, a government study has found. However, while there is evidence that mixed schools boost positive attitudes between pupils of different ethnicities, the report found segregation still exists during lunchtimes. The study was commissioned in the wake of the […]

Free school that omits arts and humanities rated ‘inadequate’

A free school in Newcastle that does not teach humanities, arts or foreign languages has been branded ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in its first inspection. The education watchdog singled out the “unacceptable” absence of subjects at Discovery School, which also omits physical education, in its report from an inspection conducted in May. “The curriculum is failing […]

RSC to take ‘unprecedented’ decision on whether a primary can leave its trust

A regional schools commissioner is about to make an “unprecedented” decision on whether a primary school can voluntarily quit its multi-academy trust. Christine Quinn, the RSC for the west Midlands, has stepped into a row between Black Firs Primary, in Congleton, and its trust – the Congleton Multi-Academy trust (Cmat). Five of the school’s governors […]