Nick Linford | Schools Week

Small schools at risk of closure under academies plan, warns union boss

A move to turn all schools into academies risks the closure of small and “expensive” rural schools, as academy trusts avoid or try to shift the “less attractive” institutions off their books, it has been warned. The government wants every school to become an academy by 2022, but the financial viability of smaller schools as […]

Schools should address sexist bullying and teach girls to ‘speak out’, union boss claims

Schools should be teaching all pupils about rhetoric and “speaking out”, to ease pressure on girls to be compliant in class, Dr Mary Bousted has said. The general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers warned that girls are subjected to sexist bullying in schools and the issue “doesn’t get talked about”, with girls facing […]

Schools to be ‘named and shamed’ over unfair pay practices

Academy trusts, schools and councils will be “named and shamed” over “unreasonable and unfair” pay policies, the National Union of Teachers has ruled. The NUT has just passed a motion on teacher pay which instructs the union’s executive to “target” employers which don’t pay fairly, and name and shame them “where necessary”. It is not […]

Nicky Morgan: Brexit could harm pupils’ language-learning opportunities

Opportunities for young people, such as learning from native speakers of French, German and Spanish, could be put at risk if Britain leaves the European Union, Nicky Morgan has warned. The education secretary has used her first major speech on the issue at London’s Fashion Retail Academy to highlight what she sees as the benefits […]

NUT prevent strategy motion: what it actually says

The National Union of Teachers annual conference has passed a motion calling for the government’s prevent duty to be withdrawn and replaced with new guidance for schools In a passionate speech at the end of the debate, executive member Alex Kenny called on the press to “read the words on the page” and not use the […]

All trainee teachers should get SEND training, NUT demands

All trainee teachers should receive “comprehensive” SEND training to cope with “greater responsibilities”, the National Union of Teachers has demanded. The NUT passed a motion at its conference in Brighton this morning which demands training for all trainees, including those on school-based training routes such as Teach First and School Direct. Under current standards, those […]

Union action against primary tests: what it means for schools

The National Union of Teachers has today passed a motion about primary testing, which will inform its campaigning on the issue over the next year and beyond. Here’s the three things it will mean for schools… This year’s national assessments (SATs) The NUT is calling on education secretary Nicky Morgan to cancel the tests due […]

The ‘Workload Principles’: A one-page guide to the most useful parts of the workload reports

After surveying 21,000 people and taking a year to mull over the results what did the groups tasked with reducing workload find? The recommendations themselves cover three different areas – planning, marking, and data – and are mostly very weak. Lots of lines saying ‘should’ and ‘encourage’ but no real commitment. Also, many of the […]

Union calls on schools to boycott baseline checks and urges Morgan to cancel primary tests

Schools are being urged to boycott baseline testing of reception children this September while the National Union of Teachers executive considers a ballot for a wider boycott of all primary testing in 2017. The NUT’s annual conference in Brighton has passed a motion calling on schools not to complete baseline tests for reception children this autumn, and […]