DfE | Schools Week

DfE boss won’t say if SEND review will be out by next April

The Department for Education’s top civil servant has refused to confirm when the government’s long-delayed SEND review will be published, even declining to say if it will be out by the end of the financial year during a grilling by MPs. Permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood was questioned by the commons public accounts committee this morning […]

New chair appointed to teachers’ pay body as controversial pay freeze looms

A new chair will take over the School Teachers’ Review Body from September, amid controversy over the upcoming public sector pay freeze. The STRB advises the prime minister and education secretary on teachers’ pay and responsibilities in England, but unions have recently accused the government of undermining its independence. Dr Patricia Rice, a senior research […]

School playing field sales hit 3-year high as Johnson pledges £50m football pitch investment

Sales of school playing fields hit a three-year high last year, it has emerged, on the same day Boris Johnson pledged tens of millions for new football pitches across England. The prime minister used a major speech on his “levelling up” agenda to announce £50 million in government investment in football pitches. It will ensure […]

DfE U-turns on masks for pupils travelling to school

The DfE has made a rapid U-turn over plans to relax face covering guidance for pupils on public transport and school buses. Guidance for schools about step four of the relaxation of Covid restrictions was revised on Tuesday, just eight days after it was published and before the changes even take effect next week. The […]

Pupils three times more likely to be self-isolating in north-east than London

Secondary pupils in parts of northern England are more than three times as likely to miss classes while they self-isolate as their peers in London, according to new figures. The average pupil between year 7 and year 10 in a sample of north-east schools missed more than a third of their time in school last […]

Schools sent Covid tests with ‘incorrect instructions’

The Department for Education has clarified that ‘Orient Gene’ brand Covid test kits sent out to schools can be used by older pupils after admitting some contained “incorrect instructions” suggesting the contrary. In an email sent to school leaders, seen by Schools Week, the DfE said a “small number of boxes of Orient Gene test […]

Downsizing trust ‘failed to balance books quickly enough’

The Department for Education has slapped strict spending controls on an academy trust accused of failing to balance its books rapidly enough after it was stripped of a school. The Castle Trust, which is now preparing to close, has been issued a financial notice to improve after it “failed to act quickly enough to make […]

Fair funding reforms won’t be fully rolled out for at least 3 years

Government reforms to make school funding fairer will now not be fully implemented for at least another three years. The Department for Education today launched another consultation over its national funding formula, asking schools how and when it should complete plans to end a “postcode lottery” between council areas. Steve Edmonds, director of advice and […]

Revised safety and sexual harassment guidance: 8 things you need to know

The government has issued beefed-up guidance on tackling sexual misconduct in schools, warning downplaying it as “banter” can normalise abuse and “over-friendly” staff should be reported. The Department for Education has published a draft of revised statutory guidance on keeping children safe in education, with more than 60 updates to the previous version released only […]