Author: Nick Linford

The head of a north London academy said he was forced to hire a maths teacher from America and described the stress of “huge” curriculum changes, at a conference yesterday. Jonathan Gillard, the principal of Aylward Academy in Edmonton, told the Westminster Education Forum event in London that his “very good” school had to look […]

Schools won’t be forced to provide wraparound childcare themselves and can turn down “unreasonable” requests from parents under new proposals announced by Nicky Morgan this week, which won’t apply to existing free schools and academies. The education secretary told the Conservative Party conference on Tuesday that parents would get the right to request that schools […]

Madrassas, Sunday schools, Yeshivas and other religious institutions which teach children “intensively” will have to register and be inspected, David Cameron has said as he pledged to clamp down on segregation. In a section of the prime minister’s speech to the Conservative Party conference on extremism, Mr Cameron warned that institutions teaching intolerance would be […]

Schools will be “expected” to accommodate requests for childcare “for a full working day” and in the school holidays if enough parents demand it, Nicky Morgan has announced. The education secretary told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this afternoon that she planned to give “more working parents something the best schools already do”. She […]

Nicky Morgan has clashed with trade unionists at the Conservative Party conference as she accused them of painting a “negative picture” of teaching. During a heated debate at a fringe event organised by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), the education secretary, pictured above right, said she was […]

There would be “no more free schools” under a future Labour government, Lucy Powell told her party conference as she hinted councils would be given powers to open and run new schools. In her speech to the Labour Party conference in Brighton this afternoon, the shadow education secretary drew battle lines between her and the Conservatives, […]

Labour will make all schools ‘accountable’ to councils, Jeremy Corbyn has announced. In his speech to his party’s conference in Brighton, Mr Corbyn said Labour wanted to see “every school accountable to local government through local education authorities”. His comments come after new shadow education secretary Lucy Powell pledged more “local oversight”, and represent the […]

Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed his government’s commitment to continuing to provide universal infant free school meals. The confirmation by a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, as reported by the BBC, breaks a long period of silence about the future of the policy after rumours of its impending demise surfaced. Free school meals for […]

Labour’s new shadow education secretary Lucy Powell has used Schools Week’s fringe at her party’s conference in Brighton to outline her priorities for education. Teacher recruitment and retention Issues with the number of teachers leaving the teaching profession and problems recruiting new teachers were mentioned first by Ms Powell at the event. She said: “We […]