Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Nicky Morgan and David Cameron united on free school meals and grammar schools

– Education secretary backs prime minister ‘all the way’ on free school meals for infants – No truth in Labour’s ‘bizarre’ claim that government will allow raft of new grammars Nicky Morgan “fully backs” David Cameron’s commitment to continue to fund universal infant free school meals and has dismissed as “bizarre” claims that the government will […]

Lucy Powell, shadow education secretary

For someone who by her own admission “hardly knows” Jeremy Corbyn, you can imagine Lucy Powell’s surprise when she received a late Sunday night phone call less than a fortnight ago offering her the position of shadow education secretary. But the 40-year-old MP for Manchester Central doesn’t seem like someone who allows things to catch […]

How to help your school stand out online

The internet has become the primary source of information for parents looking for the best school for their child, which means you need a strong online visibility. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can help 1. Focus on content and structuring The two most crucial elements of optimising your school’s online visibility are making sure your site is regularly […]

Answer the call of technology

Much of the debate about technology in the classroom isn’t above the level of tech = bad, textbooks = good. But forget the negative, technology (and that includes those mobile phones) present enormous opportunities It may surprise you that, given my job title, I’m pretty sceptical about technology as an educational tool in general and […]

RSCs are not inspectors, says consultant

A former government education policy adviser says that some regional school commissioners (RSCs) who visit schools under a “shadow Ofsted inspection regime” have reverted to the old model of local authority inspectors. Education consultant Robert Hill said a number of RSCs visited struggling academies to offer a critique of their improvement strategy, despite having no […]

The inspectors can’t make 102 school judgments AND worry about governors

The new governance section in the School Inspection Handbook is more helpful and realistic for governors than it is for inspectors Over the summer Ofsted has helpfully modified the section of its School Inspection Handbook dealing with governance, clarifying and extending its draft version in response to feedback. While this is commendable, a major question needs answering: […]

What do the statistics say about teacher shortages?

Every school leader struggling to recruit is facing his or her own crisis: empty classrooms require cover — and that’s stressful. But is there a systematic countrywide teacher shortage and, if there is, what’s causing it? We dig into the figures to find out The latest initial teacher training statistics show that almost nine out […]

Can Corbyn get his way on comprehensives?

How will Jeremy Corbyn’s unwavering commitment to cull the 11-plus and the remaining grammar schools work, politically and practically speaking, now that he has become leader? For starters, it will mean a chance – at last – of starting a national conversation about the extent and reality of selection in England in the 21st century […]

DfE produces no data on achievement of service personnel children

The government produces no data on the educational outcomes of children of military service personnel, despite spending millions of pounds supporting their schooling, Schools Week can reveal. A Freedom of Information request from a member of the public seeking information about GCSE and A-level outcomes for military service children compared with their peers was last […]