John Dickens | Schools Week

Nearly a third of pupils leave primary school unable to swim

Almost a third of primary pupils left school this year unable to swim, new figures show, as a major review calls for an overhaul of how swimming is taught to ensure schools deliver on their curriculum requirements. Figures published today show that one in 20 primary schools provide no swimming lessons at all – despite […]

Academy chain rapped for employing trust leaders off payroll

A government review into the Enquire Learning Trust has identified “serious weaknesses” in both its financial management and governance – with four senior leaders found being paid off payroll. The trust, which has 27 primary academies across the north-east, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the north-west, currently employs its chief executive officer, chief finance officer, […]

Midlands MAT handed financial notice over ‘significant failings’

A trust has been issued with a financial notice to improve after a government investigation found hundreds of thousands of pounds had been paid to companies linked to its directors without following rules. The probe into the DRB Ignite multi-academy trust, which runs eight schools in the west Midlands, found a number of “significant failings […]

UTCs excluded from EBacc target, but not league tables

University technical colleges and studio schools have been excluded from the government’s EBacc entry target, but the measure will still be included in the institutions’ league table scores. On Wednesday, the Department for Education finally published its long-delayed response to its consultation on the EBacc, which closed nearly 18 months ago. Justine Greening announced that she […]

DfE planning changes to Progress 8 in 2018

The Department for Education will change the methodology for its Progress 8 accountability measure in 2018, after a consultation revealed school leaders are angry over the “disproportionate” impact of outliers on their overall scores. The changes will be made in response to “feedback from schools about the impact that a small number of pupils with […]

Schools convert for cash, and 11 other academy trust survey findings

The government has today published its academy trust survey for 2017. It analyses responses from 326 multi-academy trusts and 543 single-academy trusts, covering issues from why they converted, what they think about financial regulation, and how much trusts charge academies. 1. Most schools converted into single-academy trusts for extra cash The survey shows that […]

9 key findings from the DfE’s accounts: Bonuses, £200k pay-offs, and rising PFI debts

The Department for Education has published its annual accounts for 2016-17. Schools Week has the key findings: 1. Former edu sec Nicky Morgan got a £17k pay off Accounts show the former education secretary Nicky Morgan got a severance pay off totalling £16,877 last year. This amounts to a quarter of the £67,505 salary […]

DfE writes off £500k loss on defunct Lilac Sky academy trust

The government has written off more than £500,000 it is owed by the now defunct Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust. The trust is in the process of being liquidated after the government stepped in to remove all of its nine schools following finance concerns. Schools Week has previously revealed the government was alerted over allegations […]

Most teachers and parents fear EBacc could narrow curriculum

More than two thirds of respondents to the DfE’s consultation on the English Baccalaureate are worried that schools will be unable to maintain a broad and balanced curriculum as the number of pupils taking it increases. The results of the Department for Education’s consultation on ‘Implementing the English Baccalaureate’, released today, show that 71 per cent […]