Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Baseline assessment provider Early Excellence admits data ‘anomalies’

The credibility of the baseline assessment chosen by more than 12,000 primary schools could test government plans to hold schools to account for pupil progress. A letter sent to headteachers described a series of “anomalies” in the Early Excellence Baseline Assessment (EExBA), a model that involves observations rather than formal tests. In the letter, Early […]

Ofsted to let schools see evidence forms

Ofsted has told parliament that inspectors’ evidence forms will be released to people who request them under information laws. But one former inspector warned that “large numbers” of heads could rush to get the notes in the hope of challenging an outcome and overload Ofsted with freedom of information (FoI) requests, while information expert Tim […]

Ofsted says you can see their evidence – but should you ask?

Complaints about schools inspectorate Ofsted are ten-a-penny. It was therefore a shame to see good news buried in the final section of a letter sent by Sir Michael Wilshaw to the education select committee. As our cover story reveals, it read: “”Ofsted has, for some time, been providing inspection ‘evidence bases’ to the public on […]

For-profit firm running free school still losing money

The sole for-profit company operating a free school in the UK has cut its operating loss by almost 80 per cent in a single year and could soon begin to balance its books. The accounts of IES International English Schools UK Ltd, which is the educational service provider of the 300-pupil IES Breckland free school […]

Heads should give budgets the same importance as attainment, says funding agency boss

School leaders should place the same importance of balancing their budgets as achieving educational attainment, the Education Funding Agency’s top boss has said today. Peter Lauener, chief executive of the EFA, urged headteachers and school business managers to “bring both agendas together so they are both serving the mission of improving educational standards”. He said: “Standards […]

How computing won the day

Schools spend somewhere between £500 million to £1.5 billion every year on computing kits and software, with more than 14,000 teachers employed to teach children how to use them. In the first of a six-part series focusing on technology in schools, Jess Staufenberg looks at the shift towards the teaching of computing – rather than […]

Julian Thomas, master, Wellington College

The previous master of Wellington College, Anthony Seldon, was known for talking about “happiness — a lot. Julian Thomas, the master as of September this year, barely mentions it during our hour-long chat in his enormous, luxurious office. Instead, he simply radiates it. It’s easy for him to be happy, you might cynically think; he […]

Know the risk of getting outside help with procurement

Schools are busy, under-resourced places that often turn to outside agencies for help. But beware: there is a trade-off between getting the job done and the potential risks of doing so Budget constraints and the scale of academy conversions has led to different buying responsibilities landing in the trays of teachers and school business managers. […]

Restraint in school – what the law says

You hope you will never have to use restraint, but if your duty of care leaves you with little choice: know your school procedure and record everything The latest school shooting in the US and stories of children being locked in classrooms in the UK have once again highlighted the issue of restraint and how […]