Tom Belger | Schools Week

Schools warned Brexit driver shortages threaten meal supplies

School meals could face disruption and caterers have begun stockpiling as a driver shortage fuelled by Brexit and Covid puts deliveries at risk, a local council has warned. Sheffield City Council said cooks would be given two days’ “emergency stand-by menu items” from this week in case the national driver shortage threatens frozen and dry […]

Schools handed extra cash to take NQTs off-timetable after Covid hits induction

Schools will receive cash to fund additional off-timetable development for their current cohort of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) as a result of Covid disruption to induction. The Department for Education announced on Monday that state schools in England will be eligible for the funding for every NQT due to complete their induction this summer. The […]

Catering giant’s menu leaves a sour taste in some schools

The catering giant Chartwells has lost school food contracts worth up to £19 million since its lockdown parcels sparked outcry earlier this year, with one trust accusing it of putting “profit before pupils”. But the company has still bagged seven deals in recent months worth at least £92 million over the next six years, assuming […]

RSC’s push to get communities on board not matched by academy guidance

The Department for Education has quietly removed the need for schools to be “answerable” to communities and parents from its governance handbook. It comes in spite of renewed emphasis in recent weeks on community involvement, with Claire Burton, the regional schools commissioner for south east England and south London, saying academising schools must show the […]

New academy rules put trust autonomy at risk, say sector leaders

Sector leaders are warning the new academy trust handbook could undermine board autonomy , and demanding the government confirm whether it spells “broader intervention” in future. Most of the changes to the rebranded 2021 edition, previously known as the academies financial handbook, are simply pulling in existing school guidance from elsewhere. Minister Baroness Berridge’s foreword […]

Teacher departures down 17% during pandemic, plus 4 more school workforce findings

Teaching’s increasingly young and diverse workforce continued to grow last year as staff departures slumped during Covid, new figures show. The Department for Education published its annual ‘school worforce in England’ data on Thursday, based on the November 2020 school workforce census. Here are the key findings. 1. Teacher numbers rise as staff stay […]

Speed read: ‘Academy trust handbook’ 2021 published as DfE rebrands key guide

The DfE has rebranded the academies financial handbook as the academy trust handbook, with ministers dubbing the latest edition a “one stop shop” for academy leaders. The update has also seen financial notices to improve renamed as “notices to improve”, to reflect that the warnings issued to academies sometimes cover “broader governance issues”. Baroness Berridge, […]

Gibb slams Catholic RSE resources in rape culture clampdown

A minister has slammed Catholic RSE materials portraying women as “receivers” in sexual relationships, just a few months after he said using the resources was a decision for schools. The warning by schools minister Nick Gibb, and an Ofsted visit to one school using the resources, suggest a tougher government stance after a wave of […]

DfE blocks MAT’s bid to take shares in outsourcing firm

An outsourcing firm has urged the government not to be “hung up on fear of the different” after officials thwarted a multi-academy trust’s bid to take shares in the for-profit company. Schools Week revealed in March that Transforming Futures Trust (TFT) had signed a £1 million deal to outsource most of its central staff and […]