Tom Belger | Schools Week

Drop in new teachers securing jobs, and 5 more findings from ITT data

The number of newly qualified teachers securing jobs in state schools saw a sharp drop during the pandemic, official figures show. Newly-published initial teacher training data for 2019-20 shows aspiring primary teachers taking the hardest hit as stagnating birthrates also hit recruitment. The Department for Education figures also lay bare the differing pass rates and […]

Covid knocks permanent exclusions to lowest level since 2013 after pre-lockdown rise

Permanent exclusions dropped by more than a third to their lowest level since 2013 last year, official figures show, amid unprecedented disruption to schooling from Covid. However government data does reveal exclusions had originally risen in the autumn term of 2019-20, before schools were closed for lockdown. No one should rest assured that exclusions […]

£45 million for schools to prevent violence ‘nowhere near’ amount needed

Experts have warned £45 million package of school funding is “nowhere near” enough to tackle youth violence, highlighting a decade of cutbacks to public services and the need for more wide-ranging reforms. The government announced the funding on Monday as part of a wider “beating crime plan”, promising to launch schools-based taskforces in “serious violence […]

Bailed-out academy boss set for £150k payout, despite £1.1m budget hole

A single academy trust facing closure has set aside a £150,000 payout for its chief executive, despite reporting a £1.1 million budget black hole last year and needing two taxpayer bailouts. The Castle Trust is set to be wound up after it was stripped of Delce Academy in Kent last year following an “inadequate” rating. […]

MPs tell government to ‘shake up status quo’ on home education

MPs have slammed an “astonishing” lack of data on the number of children educated at home, and called for more powers for councils to check on their progress and welfare. School leaders backed calls for the government to introduce a national register of children educated at home, and to investigate a recent rise amid concerns […]

Treasury marks DfE’s 11,500-word homework laying out its vision

The Department for Education has published an 11,590-word “outcome delivery plan,” detailing the wide-ranging goals and performance metrics it agreed with the Treasury last year to justify its funding. Sector leaders welcomed the move to greater transparency and accountability. But they said the DfE’s plan lacked detail overall and lacked metrics in significant areas, including […]

Academy transfers fall to four-year low during pandemic

The government has spent £38.8 million moving academies between trusts since 2014, official figures show, but transfers fell to a four-year low during the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysis of new Department for Education data shows a significant drop in academies switching trusts over the past financial year, with both voluntary transfers and forced rebrokering drying up […]

London secondaries offer fewest initial teacher training placements

London secondary schools are the least likely in the country to offer at least one initial teacher training placement, a new survey suggests. Analysis of a poll of school leaders by the National Foundation for Educational Research reveals significant divides between schools in how many placements they provide. The think tank also warns schools can […]

DfE seeks public ownership of Oak as budget set to halve next term

The Department for Education wants to take Oak National Academy into public ownership, according to the group behind the project, and its budget will be halved next term. The Reach Foundation has announced Oak will “stay open and free to use for at least the next two terms” after the DfE approved another grant worth […]