DfE | Schools Week

Troubled UCAT trust to shed four schools after finances warning

Four schools run by the troubled University of Chester Academies Trust (UCAT) will be rebrokered to new sponsors following the intervention of a government schools commissioner. Christine Quinn, the regional schools commissioner for the West Midlands, has “agreed with the trust to initially rebroker four schools” in order to “release capacity”, according to a parliamentary written […]

Sex education reforms: can someone in the DfE give us a straight answer?

In Blackadder: Back and forth, our eponymous antihero runs into Shakespeare after an experiment with a time machine goes awry. “This is for every schoolboy and schoolgirl for the next four hundred years!” Blackadder cries, as he punches the Bard in the face. If I had a time machine, I should like to go back […]

Grammar schools asked to prioritise poorest pupils

The body representing most of the country’s grammar school headteachers will encourage its members to “prioritise” the poorest pupils in their admissions. The Grammar School Heads Association has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department for Education aimed as part of a push to improve access to selective schools for poorer children. The government […]

DfE takes action to force schools to follow the ‘Baker Clause’

The Department for Education has begun to intervene in schools which fail in their legal duty to allow training organisations the chance to speak to pupils about technical qualifications and apprenticeships. Lord Kenneth Baker (pictured), the former education secretary behind the so-called “Baker Clause” obliging schools to introduce pupils to technical education, told Schools Week […]

DfE ‘looking at’ resilience measure for trainee teachers

A Bradford teacher-training organisation has reduced drop-out rates by screening applicants for their resilience. The wastage rate of teacher trainees at Bradford SCITT fell from 10 per cent to one per cent in the first year after applicants’ resilience was measured and those with low scores were targeted with support. The man behind the idea, […]

On notice: 27 private schools warned by DfE

The government has made public 27 warning notices issued to private schools that failed to meet its independent school standards. Schools Week senior reporter Alix Robertson took an in-depth look at the documents. Religious schools: From the sublime to the ridiculous Gender segregation, narrow curriculums and failures to prepare pupils for life in British society […]

Damian Hinds’ changes will create an accountability revolution

The education secretary’s first great act in his new job won’t grab the headlines, but the way he’s simplified who is responsible for what in our schools will prove invaluable, writes Mark Lehain At a glance, Damian Hinds’ various announcements today could seem like mere tinkering. Given the local elections, the mainstream press will probably […]

DfE launches money-saving estate management guide

A new guide has been released by the Department for Education to help schools manage their sites and keep costs down. The ‘Good estate management for schools’ (GEMS) guidance includes a set of self-assessment questions to help headteachers and governing boards to gauge where they are doing well and which areas require more attention. It […]

More than 1,000 learners that failed courses last year will now be told they passed

More than 1,000 learners that failed their courses last year are now being told they’ve passed. Under the previous widely accepted interpretation of rules for reformed level three applied general and tech level qualifications, introduced for teaching from 2016, learners had to pass all their externally-assessed exams to achieve their qualifications. But that changed after Ofqual […]