Sophie Scott | Schools Week

General Election 2015: Schools Minister David Laws ousted in “punishing” night for Liberal Democrats

Schools minister David Laws was one of a number of senior Liberal Democrats who lost their seat in a “cruel and punishing” night for his party. Mr Laws was ousted from his Yeovil seat by Conservative Marcus Fysh who won with a 9.3 per cent majority. Laws was 1/4 on to defend his 13,000 majority. But […]

General Election 2015: Which education MPs came up trumps?

Here is a full list of how our education MPs got on in the election: Nicky Morgan, education secretary, IN Morgan was fighting a marginal seat in Loughborough and many predicted it would be another close call between the Conservatives and Labour. But she all but romped home with a majority of 17.7 per […]

“We should not specify what boys and girls wear” at school, says LGBT teacher trainer

Schools should adopt “gender neutral” uniforms to make them lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) friendly and inclusive, and end bullying, a teacher training specialist has said. Elly Barnes, chief executive of Educate and Celebrate, said training in LGBT issues should be part of all training for teachers within school, as it is not currently […]

Parents of Croydon state school pupils unlawfully charged for literacy lessons will get refunds

Croydon Council says it will refund unlawful charges it imposed for literacy lessons to 32 primary children during school hours. The parents were charged £50,000 in total between September 2011 and August 2014, says the council. The council told Schools Week it has identified the pupils from its records who were charged unlawfully when they attended […]

Study may help schools understand why pupils with autism can get distressed while learning

New research could help schools understand why pupils with autism can get distressed while learning. The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) study asked 33 children with autism and 33 without, aged between six and 13-years-old, to judge the average direction of a set of dots on a computer screen. It found children with autism were […]

Eton College headmaster suggests boarding school bursaries for children of ‘squeezed middle’ families

Boarding schools should offer bursaries to “squeezed middle” families with incomes of £60-80,000 so they are not left out of the sector and begin to “resent” it, the headmaster of Eton College has said. Speaking at the Boarding Schools Assocation (BSA) annual conference, association president and boarding school head Tony Little said that something “imaginative” […]

Plans revealed for new international qualifications

Two education companies have today announced plans to jointly deliver international GCSE and A-level qualifications for Middle East schools teaching a British curriculum. Unlike other international GCEs, however, the qualification will not be available to UK schools. Publisher Oxford University Press and qualification provider AQA will jointly offer newly-created Oxford International AQA Examinations. When asked […]

The Runaway Schoolgirl: This is the True Story of My Daughter’s Abduction by Her Teacher Jeremy Forrest

The case of teacher Jeremy Forrest and his relationship with one of his pupils was front-page news in 2012. But in case you don’t remember, here’s what happened. Forrest, a married maths teacher at a school in Eastbourne, ran away to France with his then 15-year-old pupil, renamed as “Gemma” for this book. They were […]

NAHT to hear from Nicky Morgan and David Laws at annual conference

Nicky Morgan and David Laws will address, and be quizzed by, members of the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) today. NAHT deputy general secretary Kathy James thinks union members will expect to hear answers to concerns about inspection and accountability, as well as funding, from the current education secretary and schools minister. Mrs James also […]