Tom Belger | Schools Week

A-level results 2021: What’s behind the north-south divide?

London schools had the biggest jump in the number of top A-level grades awarded this year of any region, with more than twice the increase seen in the north-east. A lobby group of northern business and political leaders claimed the gap underlined Covid’s “disproportionate impact” on northern regions. But more long-standing regional divides and statistical […]

A-level results 2021: Private schools see bigger jump in top grades

Private schools have seen a bigger jump in the number of top grades than state schools in this year’s A-level results, according to Ofqual. Labour said the figures showed the Conservatives had “opened the door to unfairness”, noting private schools appear more likely to give prior access to questions and face parental pressure over grades. […]

Still no date for national music plan, but another expert panel

The government has assembled a panel of music grandees to help produce its national plan for music education (NPME), but steered clear of confirming when the delayed plan will finally be published. The NPME was supposed to be published last autumn, but it was delayed during the pandemic and is now only promised “early next […]

RSC adviser roles thrown open to CEOs, with elections set for September

Academy trust chief executives without headship experience can now serve as advisors to regional schools commissioners, the government has confirmed as it prepares for fresh elections for the posts. Official documents seen by Schools Week show the board elections will begin in September, after planned polls last year were shelved because of Covid. The government wants […]

Vaccines to be offered to 16 and 17-year-olds ‘within weeks’

School leaders have welcomed the government’s plan to make vaccines available to 16- and 17-year-olds across England within “a short number of weeks”. The rollout has now been approved for over-16s by the government’s joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI), but it stopped short of recommending jabs for younger children. Professor Wei Shen Lim, […]

Small academy trusts told to use reserves to fund urgent safety repairs

The government has warned small academy trusts and sixth form colleges they will be denied funding for urgent health and safety repairs if they could use their own reserves instead. The Department for Education published revised guidance on “urgent capital support” (UCS) funding today, tweaking eligibility rules. The UCS pot is earmarked for “urgent condition […]

£4m Latin excellence programme: What you need to know

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has vowed to tackle Latin’s “reputation as an elitist subject” with a new scheme to boost take-up of the subject among disadvantaged pupils. He unveiled the £4 million “Latin excellence programme” over the weekend, in a move welcomed by classics professor Mary Beard but panned by others. Here is what you […]

Study finds pupil premium cuts £43m worse than DfE admits

Schools will miss out on £43 million more in pupil premium funding for the poorest children than admitted by the government, new analysis suggests. The Education Datalab research indicates almost 104,000 children receiving free school meals will not attract extra funding after the government’s “stealth cut”. The Department for Education’s own analysis published last month […]

Former RSC John Edwards named interim ESFA chief executive

A former regional schools commissioner has been appointed interim chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency. John Edwards, currently ESFA’s director of funding, will replace Eileen Milner who has left to become chief executive of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. Susan Acland-Hood, the DfE’s permanent secretary, said Edwards was a “thoughtful and […]