Sir Gav’s £17k golden goodbye, and 6 other things we learned from the DfE’s accounts Bumper payouts for sacked ministers, staff retention issues and fears over SEND performance all revealed in annual accounts
DfE loses £10.3m in unclaimed free school VAT refunds Department admits tax was not claimed back for nine trusts’ free school projects by the HMRC deadline
DfE warned its trust CEO scheme risks breaching competition law Training providers warn plans to launch a MAT leadership development programme could wipe them out and risk breaching competition rules
‘Voluntary exit’ scheme launched as DfE seeks to lose 10% of staff Staff without ‘skills the department needs for the future’ to be offered three weeks’s salary per year of service to leave next May
‘Apocalyptic’: 500 per cent energy price hikes plunge schools into winter crisis Skyrocketing prices force school leaders into ‘unpalatable’ choices to keep classrooms open this winter
New London regional director revealed after RSC rebrand Eight regional directors have been named in a DfE restructure, becoming schools’ ‘point of contact’ in each area
Six in 10 councils face DfE intervention to cut SEND deficits All councils also face new guidance on making spending on pupils with special educational needs and disabilities ‘sustainable’
‘Patriotic’ Queen book for schools printed in … Italy Publisher forced to look abroad as there was no UK printer for all 4.5m books
Ofqual chief admits exam board mistakes caused ‘distress’ Chief regulator Jo Saxton also told school leaders handwriting is ‘here to stay’, and warn they face worse results than 2021