Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Free School round-up

Durham free school backs down on plans to appeal against closure Durham Free School will not be seeking a judicial review against its forced closure. The school was told two weeks ago that education secretary Nicky Morgan was terminating its funding agreement and that it would close on March 27. The governing body had threatened legal […]

Commission members announced

School reform minister Nick Gibb last month announced a teacher-led commission on “assessment without levels” to highlight best practice assessment models. The group’s members were revealed on Monday and met for the first time the following day. Alongside representatives from Ofsted and Ofqual, the commission members include four former or current headteachers: John McIntosh, Shahed Ahmed, […]

Nuffield pilot promises one school a ‘head of wellbeing’

What’s better in a school – a free fitness facility or an employee dedicated to “wellbeing”? In the case of a new scheme created by Nuffield Health, schools won’t have to choose, they could get both. The not-for-profit health organisation has asked willing secondaries to apply for a pilot scheme in which one selected school […]

Local authorities must act when children’s centres fail, says minister

Childcare minister Sam Gyimah says the government will not step in when children’s centres underperform as it does when schools fail. The education select committee on Wednesday heard evidence from Mr Gyimah about Sure Start children’s centres and the government’s plans for improving early years education. Mr Gyimah (pictured), who has been in post for […]

49 New Free Schools: But where are they located?

The prime minister has announced the approval of a further 49 free schools, the last batch before the general election. He also revealed that a future Conservative government would create 500 free schools with an extra 270,000 school places. David Cameron said the free schools programme was the “most successful” programme in recent British history, […]

Henry Stewart, co-founder, Local Schools Network

There’s a lot of laughter during my time with Henry Stewart. It starts when he changes his bright orange shirt so that he won’t clash with his office for our pictures and pulls out half a dozen other choices. We agree on purple among the rainbow hues; a visual summary of Stewart’s personality. Business owner, […]

Read it now and read it loud

Pupils at a Northampton academy recently took part in Read Aloud, an annual celebration to mark the achievements of early readers who complete a Reading Recovery programme. Organised by the Institute of Education’s Reading Recovery centre, it enables children to show their new reading abilities. Pupils at Woodvale Primary Academy took part last week to […]

Edition 21: Professor Maggie Atkinson, Dave Lee-Allen and Rupert Maule

Professor Maggie Atkinson is the new chair of the London cultural education organisation, A New Direction. Dr Atkinson, 59, is the outgoing Children’s Commissioner for England, a position she has held since March 2010. A New Direction are funded by arts council England and promote practical ways that schools can develop cultural opportunities and […]

Bonus ball for Rugby World Cup

Schools across England and Wales have the chance to be part of the opening ceremonies when this year’s Rugby World Cup kicks off in September. The welcome ceremonies for each of the 20 participating teams are open to groups of between five and 50 pupils from primary, secondary and special schools, and will feature a […]