COVID-19 | Schools Week

Grammar school inclusion plan had little impact, DfE admits

Government tells selective schools to ‘challenge themselves to do more’ as proportion of poorer pupils rises by just 0.7%

Teacher sickness absence soars in wake of pandemic

More than 3.2 million working days were missed due to illness last year

Oak National Academy will allow commercial use of its lessons

Move allows schools to adapt resources and share outside their organisation, but U-turn on geo-restriction plans

Wesley Davies, CEO, The Two Counties Trust

Most MAT chiefs are lucky if they get to open one free school in their lifetime. Wesley Davies has opened three, all of which are now rated ‘outstanding’. Davies spent the first 20 years of his career at Dixons Academies Trust, where he got first-hand experience of the emergence of the modern MAT system. As […]

It’s time to decide what our schools and teachers are for

Are schools education specialists or the front line of children’s services? Without clarity we are failing children and staff

GPs should help ‘risk-averse’ parents send kids back to school, says Ofsted

In evidence to the Education Committee’s persistent absence inquiry, Ofsted said GPs and pharmacies could help parents ‘get the right perspective and balance’

Ellie Costello, director, Square Peg

Ellie Costello is at the front of a growing movement against the “one-size-fits-all” education system that creates, she says, kids who cannot cope in school. Square Peg, the parent support organisation she leads, is particularly concerned by the top-down pressures schools are facing to bolster attendance. This forces “square pegs” to fit round holes that […]

Up to 2,000 schools sought for air quality monitoring project

Free monitors rollout follows calls for monitoring in public spaces by the chief medical officer

Oasis Community Learning CEO John Murphy to step down

Leader of one of England’s largest trusts leaves to pursue ‘a range of projects across the education sector’