Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Solar energy for schools scheme

A scheme to make it easier for schools to install renewable energy has been launched by solar developer company Conergy. It says it wants to deliver “insight and inspiration” on the potential financial, educational and environmental benefits of renewable technology. The Conergy solar on schools programme will “provide stakeholders with access to energy use and […]

Gove was ‘despised’, says Nicky Morgan’s new mental health tsar

Michael Gove was a “despised” and “divisive” education secretary who refused to acknowledge the link between mental health and academic performance, says the present education secretary’s mental health tsar. And despite her vocal support for new government initiatives on peer-to-peer mentoring and partnerships between teachers and mental health services, Natasha Devon (pictured with Sam Gyimah) […]

ICT teachers struggling with transition to computing

Teachers are struggling to deliver the computing curriculum, says the chief of the professional body chosen by the government to leads its reforms. Dr Bill Mitchell, head of the British Computing Society (BCS), says that it could be another five years before teachers feel confident enough to successfully teach computing science. The comments come after […]

College awarded top sporting status

Ellesmere College in Shropshire has been named as one of only nine schools in the world to achieve a top sporting status. The college received a World Academy of Sport accreditation that will allow top level athletes to follow a flexible study programme to achieve the International Baccalaureate diploma (IB). The school, a member of […]

What pupils are REALLY allowed to eat at school

Schools must follow food standards and provide free meals to all infants. But dig into those standards and you’ll find odd combinations of ingredients. And what about the children who bring in their own food? Who keeps an eye on what they eat? Do you like the meals at your school? I can remember going […]

Writing assessments for 11-year-olds brought forward to end of May

Primary school teachers must hand in their final assessments of year 6 pupils a month early, piling on the pressure for May. Year 6 teachers complete pupil assessments as part of the writing test for their key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests, commonly known as SATs. Last year, schools were required to submit data […]

The feminism A-level debacle shows how biased we are about ‘best thinkers’

Women have been thinking, campaigning and contributing to politics throughout history, just as men have. It is therefore self-evident that the A-level syllabus should reflect this You couldn’t make it up. The Department for Education revises the specification for A-level politics, somehow manages to reduce the prominence of women within the new syllabus, triggers an […]

School efficiency tool criticised as ‘dodgy’ metric

A new government tool allowing schools to compare their efficiency could be used to “beat schools around the head”, a former deputy head and accountant has warned. The Department for Education (DfE) has published a new “efficiency metric tool”, which allows schools to see how their efficiency compares with similar schools based on the relationship […]

Government spends £3m in scramble to get 400 ‘master’ computing teachers

Ministers are unlikely to fulfil a pledge to provide 400 master teachers to lead the computing curriculum revolution for a second year running – despite handing out £3 million in funding. Former education secretary Michael Gove (pictured) gave £2 million to the British Computing Society (BCS) in 2013 to create a pool of master teachers […]