Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Primary schools stop pupils reading above their level

Primary teachers and parents say that schools are insisting pupils not be taught material above their expected level. Discussions on social media this week reveal that children with higher reading levels have been stopped reading books that are more advanced than their peers can manage. Parents blamed the recent shift in the national curriculum to […]

Featured: Oundle pupils in sponsored swim for cancer charity

A team of Oundle School pupils crawled their way through a 24-hour non-stop swim in memory of a pupil’s father and to raise money for The Anthony Nolan Trust. The group of ten from the Northamptonshire school pushed themselves to the limit as they swam in pairs in 30-minute shifts throughout the day and night. They […]

Ipswich’s Westbourne Academy hosts Olympic visit

A brother and sister who are going for gold at this summer’s Rio Olympics returned to their old school in Ipswich to inspire current pupils. Anton and Kerry Dixon, who are on target to compete in the long jump and 400m hurdles, took a break from their training schedules to deliver an assembly to year 10 […]

Solihull pupil wins sponsored place at Birmingham City University

A Solihull pupil has won a sponsored undergraduate degree at Birmingham City University after taking top prize in this year’s Millennium Point Young Innovator award. Abigail Lavercombe of St Martin’s Girls’ school was one of seven finalists who made a presentation focusing on science, technology and engineering with themes including nanotechnology, robotics, sustainability, future energy, feeding […]

Royal Albert Hall launches Victorian tour

The Royal Albert Hall has launched a new Victorian tour to boost learning in key stage 2 history and literacy. In the “immersive history lesson”, pupils will join two characters from Victorian society as they tell stories of the era’s famous people and their achievements. Topics covered on the tour and accompanying workshop include Nightingale […]

DfE pays civil servants £1.7m in bonuses

The Department for Education (DfE) paid out £1.7 million in bonuses last year – with top civil servants pocketing up to £17,500 for good performance. Figures released last month by the government also reveal Ofsted civil servants received bonuses of nearly £900,000. Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, […]

To reduce teacher workload, the DfE should lead by example

The timing of the publication of the workload principles and the recommendations will do little to change policy, says Ross McGill You could be pardoned for missing the publication of the workload principles from the Department for Education (DfE). Why? Because it was Easter and many teachers had long-forgotten their lesson plans and marking. Yet […]

Councils consider their tactics in academies battle

Councils are beginning to mobilise against the government’s all-out academisation plans, with some aiming to retain their role in schools by setting up academy trusts. Birmingham City Council, which is in a key election battleground, last week rejected several white paper policies, including that all local authority-maintained schools must become academies by 2022. Its decision […]

Stephen Morales, chief executive, NASBM

As a sportsman and former national league basketball champion, Stephen Morales wants to know where everyone on the court is heading. He speculates, for instance, on the “end game” of the 2016 education white paper, which says all schools must become academies. “Is it public sector efficiencies? Is it improving the system for the whole […]