Sophie Scott | Schools Week

46 independent schools shut last year

At least 46 independent schools have closed in the past year. The January school census, published in July every year, shows the number fell from 2,357 last year, to 2,311 this year. The number of pupil referral units also dropped by nine. Despite a rise in the number of state-funded schools (12 primaries and 20 […]

Highest teacher leaving rate in a decade – and 6 other things we learned about the school workforce

Record numbers of teachers are leaving the profession bolstering claims of a recruitment crisis, according to new figures released today by the Department for Education. While headline figures from the workforce census show there are an extra 2,000 teachers working in schools, further analysis highlights a worrying trend of teachers leaving the profession. Nearly one […]

Christine Quinn announced as new regional schools commissioner for West Midlands

A new regional school commissioner (RSC) for the West Midlands has been appointed to replace Pank Patel. Christine Quinn, the executive principal and chief executive of Ninestiles Academy Trust in Birmingham, will take up the role on October 3. She replaces Patel who quit his role last month to become headteacher of the George Salter […]

Reports delayed by the referendum could be published soon

A number of reports delayed by the EU referendum could soon be released by the Department for Education. The government has pushed back publication of a number of key reports in the run up to yesterday’s vote, with some concern raised about the content of the reports and the reasons behind delay. Now that purdah, […]

Morgan “not standing for leader” after David Cameron resigns

Nicky Morgan is not putting her name into the ring for leadership of the Conservative party, Schools Week can confirm. National media outlets have reported that the education secretary has been put forward as leader, after prime minister David Cameron announced he would resign following today’s vote to leave the European Union. A spokesperson for […]

Brexit: Vote to leave the EU will delay education policies

Questions have been raised about the impact of today’s vote to leave the European Union on the government’s education policies. Prime minister David Cameron, who led the Remain campaign, announced this morning he would quit before the Conservative party’s conference in October. Leave won the referendum with 52 per cent of the votes. Headteachers’ union […]

Schools must collect data on immigrant children from autumn

The government is to start collecting data on how many children from immigrant families are being taught in England’s schools. The Department for Education (DfE) has changed the information that will be collected from schools this autumn to include details about pupils’ nationality and country of birth. The change in the census records will expand […]

National Union of Teachers will take national strike action over pay and conditions

Teachers will walk out of classrooms on July 5 after nine in ten voted in favour of strike action, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) has announced today. NUT members agreed to ballot teachers at its annual conference in March. The walkout next month will demand increased “funding to schools and education, guarantee terms and […]

Children getting first choice secondary school place remains stable, despite rising number of applicants

The proportion of children getting a place at their first choice secondary school has remained stable, despite the number of applicants increasing to a near ten-year high. Despite the largest number of children – 548,006 – in almost a decade and an increase of 2.8 per cent from last year needing a place for year […]