Schools Week Reporter | Schools Week

Speed-read: NASBM school efficiency report

A new study published today by the National Association of School Business Management (NASBM) claims to have found ways for a school to slash up to 20 per cent on their administration costs. The report follows NASBM chief executive Stephen Morales writing for Schools Week last year urging schools to “think differently” to make large-scale savings. Recommendations […]

Does an elite education benefit health?

Dr David Bann, Lecturer/Research Officer, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL Institute of Education What have you been working on? Trying to better understand health inequalities in society using longitudinal data – in this case, data from a British study which began in 1970 (the 1970 British Cohort Study). In particular, how the education system relates to later […]

‘Rogue marker’ blamed for attempted SATs leak

The government has blamed a “rogue marker” for attempting to leak a key stage 2 SATs test after a copy of the exam paper was apparently sent to a journalist last night. Schools minister Nick Gibb is also looking to “seek redress” from the exam board after today’s spelling and grammar tests were erroneously uploaded onto […]

KS2 grammar test published online in second exam breach

Today’s key stage 2 English test has been leaked online, adding to the chaos surrounding standardised testing in England after a similar key stage 1 test was accidentally published by the Department for Education (DfE) last month. The answers to the spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPAG) test were uploaded onto a password-protected site accessible to exam markers last night, before […]

A quarter of year 6 pupils are stressed about SATs

Twenty-seven per cent of children are “stressed” about their SATs, but only 10 per cent “hate” the tests, reveals a survey of year 6 pupils as standardised testing gets underway across England this week. According to a ComRes poll of 750 10- and 11-year-olds for the BBC, 14 per cent admitted they “enjoy” the tests and 48 per cent “don’t mind” taking them. Pupils […]

How academy conversion affects primary schools’ performance

Sponsor-led primary academies improve substantially after conversion, but there is no evidence that converter academies get any better, reveals new analysis from a schools data website. Disadvantaged pupils at sponsor-led academies also improve more than their peers, show the SchoolDash findings, which are surprisingly similar to those for the secondary sector. With less than 13% of primary […]

Children ‘strike’ all over England to boycott SATs

Children all over England are being kept off school today, in protest at “a school system that places more importance on test results and league tables than children’s happiness and joy of learning”, according to organisers. In Brighton a rally attended by Children’s laureate Chris Riddell has attracted more than 500 parents and children, and local primary schools are reporting […]

Why effective heads don’t need to have been teachers

Too many headteachers are nearing retirement with too few to take their place. But there are plenty of highly skilled people with the potential to run schools, says Mike Buchanan. Toby Young, Sir Michael Wilshaw and Sir Anthony Seldon are all colourful characters who prod us with their pronouncements. They are all passionate believers in […]

Heads must decide on May 3 ‘protest’ absences

Headteachers must decide whether they will record pupil absences related to parent protests over this summer’s SATs as authorised or not. A petition started by campaign group Let Our Kids Be Kids has around 30,000 signatories claiming they will stop their children attending school in protest over new national curriculum tests due to begin next month. The petition proposes “a day of […]