Sophie Scott | Schools Week

Alan Milburn calls for more action to recruit good teachers to disadvantaged schools

Regional schools commissioners should be able to order academies to spend some pupil premium money on recruiting and rewarding good teachers, says the chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission (SMCP). In a speech today at the Policy Exchange think tank, SMCP chair Alan Milburn urged the next government to bring in the […]

Nicky Morgan reveals new support for pupils with mental health problems

The DfE has announced new measures to support pupils with mental health problems inside and outside the classroom, including guidance for schools published with the PSHE Association. Education secretary Nicky Morgan unveiled a range of initiatives targeted at the one in 10 children with a diagnosable mental health disorder – around 3 children in every […]

Tristram Hunt calls for action to stop languages being axed from GCSEs and A levels

Plans to scrap a number of languages from A level and GCSE exams has been criticised by those in the field and politicians. Exam boards AQA and OCR have published lists of subjects planned to be axed, which includes foreign languages such as Polish, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Modern Hebrew, Turkish and Portuguese, while Ancient Hebrew […]

Stoke-on-Trent ‘lingers in the bottom 10’ for good and outstanding primary schools, says Ofsted

Standards in Stoke-on-Trent’s schools are not improving fast enough and too many pupils are getting an inadequate education, says Ofsted. This means that over 5,500 secondary school children in Stoke-on-Trent are attending a school that is not yet good enough, according to the education watchdog. The conclusions follow a local authority (LA) inspection in January […]

Election purdah rules make minister attendance at union conference a “political matter”, says DfE

General secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) Dr Mary Bousted has accused education secretary Nicky Morgan of turning her back on the union’s Easter conference. But a spokesperson for the DfE told Schools Week that election purdah regulations will be in force during the conference, therefore attendance by any ministers in the […]

ASCL conference: Time of major change is now over, says Nicky Morgan

Education secretary Nicky Morgan promised school and college leaders today the time of major upheaval in education has come to an end. Speaking at the Association of School and College Leaders conference she said now focus will turn towards the Government’s recent reforms to be given time to “bed in”. She said: “I want to reassure you about what that […]

ASCL conference: Nicky Morgan says curriculum must stay in hands of politicans

Education secretary Nicky Morgan shot down calls for an independent commission to look after the school curriculum – insisting it’s safe in the hands of politicians. An independent commission to review the core curriculum every five years was announced as a key feature of the Association of School and College Leaders at its conference this […]

Durand Academy Trust issued with financial notice to improve

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has issued Durand Academy Trust (DAT) with a financial notice to improve – telling the trust some of its delays so far have been “unacceptable”. In a letter, published today, the EFA has told DAT, which runs Durand Academy in south London, it must commission an independent review of its […]

ASCL conference: David Laws sad at prospect of stepping down from “most exciting and rewarding” role of his life

Lib Dem schools minister David Laws bid what could be an emotional farewell saying he feels “very sad” at the prospect of leaving his “wonderful job”. Mr Laws told school and college leaders his last three years in office had been the “most exciting and rewarding of my life”. Speaking at the Association of School and College Learners conference […]