Schools Week Reporter | Schools Week

Ministers reject nine in 10 council bids to prop up high needs budget

Councils have warned of soaring deficits and diminishing support for vulnerable pupils after ministers rejected nine in 10 bids to shore up high needs budgets with general school funds. The local councils of both education secretary Gavin Williamson and schools minister Nick Gibb are among 22 local authorities denied permission by Williamson to move cash […]

Trust issued warning after key stage 3 pupils not taught MFL

An academy trust could have funding axed for one of its schools after Ofsted found some pupils in year 7 and 8 – including those with special educational needs – were not being taught modern foreign languages. Inspectors who visited Bilton School, a mixed secondary school in Warwickshire, said some pupils in key stage 3 […]

Heads ‘handcuffed’ into anti-academy vows

Unions are using strike action to “handcuff” headteachers into signing pledges not to academise for up to five years. National Education Union (NEU) members have held strike action at Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brentwood. The diocese has outlined plans for eight new academy trusts to take over its local authority-maintained schools, although the […]

Third of teachers have to bring their own tea and coffee to school

Making a round of brews for your colleagues is an everyday activity for many teachers, but what if the contents of the staff kitchen had to be paid-for out of your own pocket? A survey found 38 per cent of teachers in secondary schools have to bring in their own tea and coffee, with over […]

New teachers happier, but feel hard work ‘isn’t appreciated’

Newly qualified teachers are happier than other graduates, but are more likely to say their hard work is unrewarded, new research has found. Researchers at the UCL Institute of Education found that, on average, new teachers work nine hours more every week than other graduates. Professor John Jerrim, lead author of the report, said it […]

Schools in poorest areas have up to 100 extra sick days, plus 3 more EPI teacher shortage findings

The Education Policy Institute today has released a report probing the teacher shortages and pay in England. Report author Luke Sibieta raised concerns the government’s big pledge to boost teacher starting salaries up to £30,000 will solve the challenges faced by disadvantaged schools in retaining and recruiting high-quality teachers. Here’s four key findings: 1. […]

EPI: Schools in poorest areas face more cuts to pay for £30k starting salaries

Schools in the most disadvantaged areas face having to make further cuts to meet the sharp rise in salaries for new teachers, a report has warned. The Department for Education has pledged starting teacher salaries will increase to £30,000 by 2022. This is a 23 percent increase, or nearly £6,000 a year, outside of London […]

Schools invited to comment on major review of university admissions

Schools are invited to have their say on how the future of university admissions should look, as the independent regulator for higher education in England launches a major review. The Office for Students has put forward three future options for reform of the system, which includes keeping it the same but with reforms such as […]

Four in 10 LGBT+ teachers experience homophobia, biphobia or transphobia, warns NASUWT

More than four in ten teachers who identify as LGBT+ have personally experienced homophobia, biphobia or transphobia at work in the past year, the NASUWT teaching union has warned. And 40 per cent of LGBT+ teachers have also witnessed homophobic, biphobic or transphobic incidents involving their colleagues, with 17 per cent saying they had witnessed […]