Author: Nick Linford

Prime minister David Cameron will today announce the approval of 49 free schools, increasing the number of open or approved free schools to 412. The announcement coincides with a report by think tank Policy Exchange claiming that free schools have improved standards across their local area. More than 40,000 children now attend free schools, and […]

Shortages in the supply of science skills are appearing that may hold the UK economy back and primary schools are critical to ensuring progress, says the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). CBI members see a lack of science skills as a threat to competitiveness, according to the new report launched this week. It includes the […]

Schools are not doing enough to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their better-off peers, Ofsted has warned. In its report, The most able students, the watchdog claims national data shows that too many of the most able students are “still being let down and are failing to reach their full potential”. The […]

Teachers who fail to report suspected child sexual abuse could face jail time under proposals due to be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron today. Mr Cameron will use a Downing Street summit to announce a consultation on plans to extend the new criminal offence of ‘wilful neglect’ to cover those who work in children’s […]

A teaching resource promoting the work of the armed forces has come under-fire by two campaign groups, which have labelled it “military propaganda”. ForcesWatch and Quakers in Britain have issued a joint statement condemning the British Armed Forces Learning Resource, published last September by a number of government departments including the Department for Education (DfE) and […]

Concerns over new detailed performance descriptors have led the Government to set up a new commission to review how schools assess pupils’ progress. Responses to a consultation, published today, reveal how teachers found the Government’s draft plans to replace the previous ‘levels’ systems with descriptors lacked “clarity, consistency and need greater simplicity”. Most respondents said […]

Durham Free School will have its funding terminated at the end of this term, the Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed. Janet Renou, the regional schools commissioner for the north of England, has written to the school to notify it of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan’s intention to proceed with the proposed closure of the school, […]

Education secretary Nicky Morgan has announced the 21 schools and six charities receiving £15,000 in recognition of their work promoting resilience and grit in pupils and young people. Winners of the Character Awards were chosen by a panel of experts including England rugby player Maggie Alphonsi and Kevan Collins of the Education Endowment Foundation. Concerns […]