Philip Nye | Schools Week

Wilshaw: leaked memo from Gove aide comes as no surprise

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has hit back at claims former Education Secretary Michael Gove considered replacing him, saying he was not surprised given “smear campaigns” against him. Sir Michael responded to a report in the Guardian featuring an internal Department for Education (DfE) memo from last year by Mr Gove’s former special adviser Dominic […]

Review panel set to consider status of teaching assistant role

New standards on the status of teaching assistants are to be drawn up by a review panel, the Department for Education (DfE) has announced. The “status and professionalism” of the classroom assistant role will be set out by the review panel, chaired by Kate Dethridge, principal of Churchend Primary Academy, Reading, the DfE said. The […]

Thirty five new free schools announced

Thirty five new free schools have been announced by Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, during her Conservative party conference speech. The announcement takes to 363 the number of free schools that have either opened or been approved to open. In a statement released following the speech, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: “Thanks to our plan […]

Unions angry at ‘behind the scenes’ negotiations by NASUWT

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said it was “disappointed” and seeking “urgent clarification” today after the NASUWT union alone reached an agreement with the government of Jersey. Three teaching unions – the NUT, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) – have also written to the island’s government, setting out their […]

New financial notice to improve letter sent to E-ACT

A second financial notice to improve (FNTI) letter has been sent to E-ACT, a large multi-academy trust that has previously been criticised for the way its finances are managed. The new FNTI requires E-ACT to pay back an undisclosed advance of funding that the trust received from the government in May this year. It also requires […]

Headteacher boards: the full list of elected and appointed board members

Headteacher boards (HTBs) are part of the government’s new ‘middle tier’ of accountability for academies, with each of the eight new regional school commissioners being supported by a HTB. HTB are made up of four elected members – chosen by other academy heads – plus two members appointed by the relevant regional schools commissioner. HTBs […]

EXCLUSIVE: DfE to release free school application forms

The Department for Education (DfE) has agreed to release application forms submitted for all successful free schools, after a freedom of information battle lasting two years. Some of the documents could be released as early as this afternoon. The DfE has previously refused to make the documents available, arguing that to do so would give […]

researchED: Evidence will ‘liberate’ teachers – Gibb

Nick Gibb, the Minister for School Reform, today told an audience of teachers, academics and policymakers that evidence was set to “liberate the teaching profession”. Speaking at the researchED conference, Mr Gibb said that the Government had carried out a number of measures to free teachers from bureaucracy and “put evidence right at the heart […]

researchED 2014: At least two Ofsted inspectors dropped over plagiarism

Two Ofsted inspectors have been dismissed after they were found to have copied and pasted elements of inspection reports. Asked about the extent of self-plagiarism during a question and answer session at today’s researched conference, Ofsted schools director Mike Cladingbowl said that the inspectorate had sacked an inspector for plagiarism. Also speaking at the event, Sean Harford, […]