Nick Linford | Schools Week

School Direct places soar as institutions face cuts

Figures released this week show that teacher training places at outstanding providers are to be cut 10.6 per cent, while the number of in-school training places has soared. Department for Education (DfE) figures show that the number of places on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses during 2015/16 dropped almost 3,000 at the best-performing institutions. No […]

Quick reunion for A and AS-levels

Tristram Hunt has brushed off concerns over his plan to “recouple” AS-levels and A-levels, saying “parliament is sovereign and if we are elected, we’ll do it”. He was responding to questions over the feasibility of his plan, if elected, to quickly reverse the government’s decoupling of the qualifications, due to take effect from next September. […]

Truants stay in the classroom as term-time holidays lose their allure

The Department for Education (DfE) has revealed record low numbers of children persistently missing lessons. The government said the statistics, which were released this week and which cover the autumn and spring terms of the last academic year, show 176,850 fewer pupils persistently missed school than in 2009 to 2010, dropping from 439,105 to 262,255. […]

More academy conversions given the green light

Labour would continue to allow good and outstanding schools to convert to academy status, Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt has said for the first time. While he has previously said that a Labour government would allow local groups to set up new “parent-led academies”, he has not to date set out his position on converter […]

Improvement plans ‘not fit for purpose’

Birmingham schools named in the Trojan Horse scandal have brought in new turnaround plans, following sharp criticism from Ofsted. The five schools had unannounced monitoring inspections last month, after being placed in special measures earlier this year. Up to two days’ notice is normally given for first monitoring visits. In all five cases, improvement plans […]

Gender salaries gap ‘widens’ in academies

Men get paid more than women in equivalent roles, and the gap is widening in primary academies, claims NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates (pictured). Giving evidence to MPs at the education select committee inquiry into academies and free schools Keates said the “gap is widening in terms of pay advantage for men”. She appeared alongside […]

SSAT

Lack of action at Trojan Horse schools — Ofsted tells government

Five Birmingham schools named in the Trojan Horse scandal are not showing sufficient signs of improvement, schools inspectorate Ofsted has said in a letter to the Education Secretary (click here to download the letter). Chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw (pictured) has also criticised the local authority – Birmingham City Council – for “not yet effectively sharing […]

Morgan considers the forced setting of children in new ‘rescue package’ for failing schools

The Conservative party have today pledged to ‘significantly strengthen’ the intervention powers of the eight Regional School Commissioners (RSC) in England. Under the proposals the newly appointed RSCs would be able to ‘intervene immediately’ in any school graded inadequate by Ofsted, not just the free schools and academies they currently oversee. A Conservative spokesperson said […]