Nick Linford | Schools Week

Why the latest research shows heads should give teaching assistants space to do their jobs

The Education Endowment Foundation has released its latest research on new tools for teaching assistants and called for them to be used more effectively in schools. Here, senior researcher Jonathan Sharples explains why the research is significant. One of the challenging aspects of conducting honest, robust evaluations is that they often suggest, honestly and robustly, […]

Sir Michael Wilshaw: RSCs’ role ‘not clear’ and relationships with Ofsted ‘a bit tense’

The role of regional schools commissioners (RSCs) is “not clear” and relationships between them and Ofsted are “a bit tense”, Sir Michael Wilshaw has admitted. Appearing in front of the education select committee this morning, the chief inspector revealed he was “not clear what the RSCs do other than re-broker failing academies”, and expressed frustration […]

Ofsted brings school childcare inspections back in-house

School-based childcare provision will no longer be visited by external inspectors from next year after Ofsted announced it was bringing its early years inspections back in-house. Inspections of early years provision, both in schools and standalone, have been contracted out to Tribal and Prospects since 2010, but Ofsted has confirmed their contracts will not be renewed […]

Teacher shortages ‘detrimental’ to education as reliance on supply staff and non-specialists rises, heads warn

Teacher shortages are having a “detrimental impact” on pupils’ education and seeing them increasingly taught by supply staff and non-specialists, hundreds of school leaders have warned. More than four fifths (84 per cent) of respondents to a survey by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) have expressed fears about the impact on education […]

Randomly allocating places in over-subscribed schools is the fairest option

As parents find out if their child will go to their preferred secondary school, Alastair Thomson considers what governors can do to stop lengthy appeals. Each year schools get a hard lesson about how they are perceived when parents express preferences for where their daughter or son should be educated. Eight years ago I was […]

Ofqual chair Amanda Spielman to replace Glenys Stacey as interim chief regulator

Ofqual chair Amanda Spielman will act as chief regulator on an interim basis when Glenys Stacey leaves next week, it has been announced. The former merchant banker and strategy consultant-turned education professional will take up the post on Tuesday and serve until a permanent replacement for Ms Stacey is found by the Department for Education. […]

EEF: Use teaching assistants for small groups, not as ‘substitute teachers’

Schools should be using teaching assistants to improve results of small groups instead of “as substitute teachers for low-attaining pupils”, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has said. The EEF, which funds trials of TA-led learning programmes, has endorsed two more projects and called on schools to “make sure” support staff were used in ways which “really improve results”. […]

‘Troubling’ variation in state and private school grades needs investigation, say subject experts

New figures have revealed a “troubling” difference in subject attainment between independent and state school pupils – with fee-paying pupils strongly outperforming their counterparts in history and geography, but only slightly in science. A report by Durham University and the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, commissioned by the Independent Schools Council, shows independent school pupils […]

Education and adoption bill: 200 schools face immediate intervention

Failing schools will face immediate intervention once the government’s education and adoption bill becomes law in April, and Schools Week can exclusively reveal that sponsors are already in negotiations with government officials to take over 200 schools. Once the bill is completed, council-maintained schools rated inadequate by Ofsted will immediately face “academisation” – forced conversion […]