Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Dame Rachel de Souza, CEO, Inspiration Trust

Dame Rachel de Souza is about to drive the wrong way down a one-way street. She is determined to show me one more school. “You have to see it,” she says, as we weave past a Ford Fiesta, “even if we just whizz by!” This determination is typical of de Souza who, at 46, is […]

Head teacher’s union open new wing for aspiring leaders

A new branch of the head teachers’ union aimed at senior managers with leadership ambitions is due to launch today after only eight per cent of teachers said they would feel confident leading their school. The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is launching NAHT Edge, aimed specifically at supporting teachers in senior positions who […]

Heading up a board is serious business

Headteacher boards, the first attempt to move power to the regions, deserve the support of school leaders eadteacher boards (HTBs) are now up and running in each of the eight new Department for Education (DfE) regions. Regional schools commissioners (RSCs) and their boards have jurisdiction only over academies because it is only academies (and, for […]

The advantages of scale

Having co-authored a new report suggesting performance would improve if the government let every primary school spin out from its local authority and join an academy chain, Annaliese Briggs explains the thinking behind her idea There is something of a perfect storm ahead for primary schools. Pupils’ performance has steadily improved, but a combination of […]

Greens and UKIP: party conference round-up

With party conference season in full swing, the UK’s smaller political parties have unveiled their education policies. The Green Party has called for children to begin school a year later in a bid to end to a “sausage machine” school system, while the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has called for a return to “traditional” teaching. […]

Shadow Education Minister Ali resigns

The Junior Shadow Minister for Education Rushanara Ali has stepped down after refusing to take part in yesterday’s vote on military action in Iraq. The Labour MP who had responsibility for young people on the opposition’s front bench said she was concerned civilians would be caught in the crossfire. Parliament was recalled yesterday to vote […]

Slam dunk for Bristol pupils

An academy in Bristol has introduced a new programme designed to produce the professional basketball players of the future. Bristol Metropolitan Academy hopes that the new “MET Basketball Programme” will improve students’ behaviour, attendance and punctuality, and develop life skills such as higher aspirations and improved self-esteem. The scheme will include three compulsory practices every […]

Pupils give academy thumbs-up

Year 10 students at The Rural Enterprise Academy in Rodbaston, South Staffordshire, gave their school the thumbs-up in a survey on areas such as teaching standards and classroom behaviour to skills development and safety. Their comments included: “The whole year has been helpful and enjoyable”; “I love coming here because it’s such a friendly place” […]

Conservative Party Conference preview

Each week during the political conference season we will be inviting a commentator to give their views on what education policies they wish to see announced. Will Bickford Smith gives his view ahead of Nick Morgan’s first conference speech as Education Secretary. There is no government department more greatly applauded, or reviled, than the Department for […]