Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Government withholds report on financial viability of infant free schools meals

The government is suppressing the publication of a report on the financial viability of providing free school meals to all infants in small schools. Under the universal infant free school meal (UIFSM) programme, all primary schools have had to provide free meals for all key stage 1 pupils since September 2014. This significantly impacted small, […]

Plans for Britain’s first LGBT school shelved due to ‘lack of space’

Plans for a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) school have been shelved after a feasibility study found there was no “space” for the unit, writes Sophie Scott. LGBT Youth North West, based in Manchester, was given £63,000 last January from Social Investment Business to discover what young LGBT people in the city wanted from […]

Ofsted clamps down on schools advertising ‘mocksted’ results

Schools caught telling parents they have been rated as “outstanding” in external reviews face a ticking off from the education watchdog Ofsted as it gets tough on “mocksteds”. Chiswick School, in west London, was censured after writing in an article published on its website and in a letter to parents that an “Ofsted lead inspector” […]

Natasha Tiwari, founder, Elevare London

The Christmas lights are off in London’s corporate quarter, but at least one person is home. Natasha Tiwari, the one-time drop-out trainee teacher who has built a personal tutoring empire, is bounding down the stairs of her office in the capital. Just 27 with a tiny frame (she must be all of 5ft) she’s not […]

So you want to join an academy trust? Make sure you ask these 7 questions first

Many schools will be thinking about joining a trust or federation. This is probably a sensible response to rising costs, falling budgets, diminishing services and ever-more demanding accountability. But groups of schools come in all shapes and sizes. We have to look behind the label and discover what is really going on. These sorts of […]

The 5 things we look for in schools wanting to join our academy trust

Educationists often are asked to behave like used car salesmen to promote their wares, but always take a proper look under the bonnet before you make long-term commitments. When I’m considering schools that want to join the Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT) – and we’re not short of requests – I go through a number of […]

DfE changes ‘pervasive’ accounting after audit office criticism

Department for Education plans for getting its accounts in order after stinging criticism from the government’s audit watchdog have been labelled as “not acceptable on any level”. Officials have been under pressure to find a solution for recording academy finances since the National Audit Office (NAO) last year issued a rare “adverse opinion” on the […]

Religious studies: Humanism vs Christianity, What should schools teach?

A High Court judgment in November has caused confusion over the new religious studies (RS) GCSE. Over the Christmas break, several contradictory reports of what schools must do were carried by the media What schools must do They must teach two religions in the new GCSE specification, which begins in September, with each weighted equally in […]

Society magazine Tatler snubs northern schools (again)

Northern schools have once again been ignored in a society magazine’s list of “best state schools”. Since 2014, Tatler has published a guide based on researchers’ visits to schools. Its list last year contained just five schools in the north, with the largest cluster in London. This year’s list of 32 schools includes three from […]