Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Morale leaps as Morgan moves in

Morale is bouncing back at the Department for Education following the end of a “particularly unpleasant era” when Michael Gove was at the helm. In the last 12-months, during which time the controversial government minister was replaced by a less divisive figure, DfE staff satisfaction as measured by the civil service staff survey has increased […]

Wilshaw fears for stand-alone academies

Ofsted’s chief inspector has criticised a focus on the structure of schools, despite warning that stand-alone academies are at risk of underperforming. Sir Michael Wilshaw outlined his concerns in Wednesday’s annual Ofsted report stating that he was “disturbed” by a drop in the performance of many converter academies. Sixty per cent of the 3,372 secondary […]

DfE rules on ‘Disqualification by association’ unclear says NAHT

The Department for Education needs to issue clearer guidance on who must be barred from working with young children, says the National Association of Head Teachers. “Disqualification by association” rules mean that someone who lives in the same household as a person already banned from working with young children could themselves be disqualified. While the […]

Morgan sets aside £4.8m for ‘character-building’

Nicky Morgan has revealed details of her plan to promote character in schools, a proposal that she outlined as a “priority” at the Conservative party conference earlier this year. On Monday, the education secretary announced the Character Innovation Fund, a £4.8 million commitment to fund eight projects – some run by former armed services personnel […]

Authorities on target list left in the dark

Authorities on a “target list” for academisation have been unaware that the Department for Education “concentrated its efforts” in their areas. The DfE released the list of 17 local authorities in which it wants to drive up academy numbers to Schools Week as part of a Freedom of Information request. They include Kent, Darlington, Nottinghamshire […]

Should Ofsted police extremism?

Ofsted should be clear what constitutes extremism and how “British values” can be measured before inspectors start making judgments There is a new duty on college and schools to prevent individuals being drawn into terrorism; organisations repeatedly inviting extremist speakers or failing in this duty will need to respond to ministerial directions. The threat of […]

Sign and become a world record holder

Schools across the country are being challenged to become world record breakers as they raise money for deaf children. Students and staff must sing a song and perform it in sign language at the same time as part of the sign2sing fundraising event run by deaf health charity SignHealth. A world record was set earlier […]

Ark academies take to the boards

Students from 12 Ark schools have traded their ballpoint pens for quills over the past few months as they’ve taken part in the annual Shakespeare Schools Festival, the UK’s largest youth drama festival. Children learned lines, designed sets and even practised their sword-fighting in the lead-up to performances that culminated in three nights on stage […]

Why teachers are catching the Teachmeet bug

Some whole-school CPD can be misjudged, irrelevant and, often passive. Teachmeet provides the perfect antidote… Teachmeet comes in many guises. The first I attended was a gathering of 10 teachers in a classroom. At the second there were 60, this time on board HMS Victory in Portsmouth. However, both gatherings were defined by the very […]