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21 April 2026

Author: John Dickens

Wilshaw’s £15k bonus, and 6 more Ofsted annual report findings

Sir Michael Wilshaw was awarded a bonus of at least £15,000 in his final year as chief inspector, despite Ofsted having to make savings to meet a shrinking budget. Ofsted has this morning published its annual report and accounts. It shows Wilshaw was given a bonus of between £15,000 to £20,000, with chief operating officer […]

Key academies spending document delayed… AGAIN

The Department for Education’s promised first key transparency report into academy finances will be published three months late, despite department chief Jonathan Slater telling MPs twice that it would be published by the end of June. The Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA) document will not be published until the end of October, according to […]

Ofsted misses short inspections target for second year running

Ofsted has missed its target for the number of short inspections it carries out for the second year running – although the watchdog seems to be catching up on a backlog of planned school visits. The watchdog’s annual report and accounts, published this morning, shows that the number of Ofsted inspections carried out this year […]

The 6 key policy recommendations from the Social Market Foundation’s inequality study

The Social Market Foundation has today published the results of its Commission on Inequality in Education. You can read the full story on the report by the commission, chaired by Nick Clegg, here. Below are the six key policy recommendations:   1. Make schools publish staff turnover rates Regional schools commissioners could then work with […]

Government invites bidders for new ‘innovative’ teacher training fund

The government is inviting bidders to apply for new funding to develop “innovative approaches” to initial teacher training. Education secretary Justine Greening announced the plans in March to ensure, she said, that “high-quality new teachers reach schools and areas that need them most”. She did not say how much cash was up for grabs, but […]

Ministers finally set to shut down Perry Beeches

The controversial Perry Beeches academy trust in Birmingham is finally set to be disbanded, with its five schools handed to other trusts, 15 months after financial irregularities were first revealed. Schools Week understands that proposals to close the trust and rebroker its schools have finally been agreed, and are awaiting sign-off from the academies minister […]

Just one in 10 returner teachers under government scheme secure jobs

Just one in ten returner teachers recruited under a government scheme to boost ailing numbers of maths and physics teachers actually went on to secure jobs in schools. An evaluation report of the Return to Teaching (RTT) scheme published today found that those attempting to make a return to the classroom were halted by “negativity […]

Academy facing ‘crippling’ £21 million PFI costs will now close

A struggling academy facing “crippling” PFI repayments of £21 million will now close, it has been confirmed. Schools Week reported last week how the government had agreed “in principle” to close The Kingsway Academy, in Wirral, following two-year discussions over its viability. Northern Schools Trust, which took on the academy in 2014, said low pupil […]