Sophie Scott | Schools Week

Disadvantaged pupils benefit from swift EBacc changes, research finds

Schools that swiftly overhauled their curriculum to meet the government’s English Baccalaureate (EBacc) when it was first introduced boosted results for their most disadvantaged pupils, a new report has found. The report, released today by the Sutton Trust and compiled by Education Datalab, compared a sample of 300 schools that vastly increased the proportion of […]

Year 6 pupils will not have to take times tables tests next summer

Primary schools will not be expected to adminster times tables tests for year 6 pupils next summer, despite an expectation that the tests would be introduced in May. The Department for Education (DfE) sent an email to schools yesterday, not long after Justine Greening was announced as the education secretary, to “reconfirm” there would be […]

Spending think tank demands review into varying costs of teacher training routes

The government must justify the “substantial difference” in costs between teacher training routes, a new report has claimed, with calls for a review into the additional costs to the taxpayer for schemes such as Teach First. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published today what it claims is the first analysis of the cost […]

MAT inquiry: Academy trust CEOs give evidence to education committee

The parliamentary education committee heard today from eight witnesses about multi-academy trusts (MATs) and their role, size, governance and performance. In front of the cross-party group of MPs for the first session were Sir Steve Lancashire, chief executive of Reach2 academy trust; David Moran, chief executive of E-Act; Lucy Heller, chief executive of Ark; and […]

Who becomes a teacher? 7 surprising facts about teacher training applications

Children of police officers, electricians and teachers are the most likely to train to become teachers – while people whose parents are judges, medical professionals and lawyers are the least likely, according to new data from UCAS released today. It is the second year the admissions service has provided detailed analysis which reveals the varying […]

Church of England plans 125 new free schools under ‘bold’ expansion

The number of Church of England (CofE) free schools is set to increase by more than 10-fold under new proposals that would see the church open a quarter of the government’s planned free schools over the next four years. The church’s “vision for education” was unveiled at the general synod this weekend, with a report […]

Plagued free school move delayed again

A free school plagued with problems at its proposed new site next to an airfield – including asbestos and the threat of unexploded bombs – is delaying its move for a second time. Parkfield school already postponed moving into new buildings at the former national air traffic control training centre next to Bournemouth airport. Parents […]

Schools must report EAL data differently from September – are you ready?

From September, schools will need to inform the government of each child’s country of birth, nationality and their level of proficiency in English if it is not their first language. Almost one in five (1.25 million) children in England are classed as having English as an additional language, but current data about their performance is […]

Ofqual defers allowing pupils to bypass schools for exam re-marks

Ofqual has put back a decision on allowing pupils to ask for re-marks of their GCSE and A-level exams, originally put forward to be available this summer. In May, the exams regulator announced it was to remove the restriction, which prevents exam boards from allowing learners to make direct re-mark requests. It said this would […]