DfE | Schools Week

DfE property company considers onsite housing for teachers

The government-backed company tasked with buying sites for new schools is looking at providing housing for teachers in new developments, its chief executive has revealed. Lara Newman (pictured below) has told an event in London that LocatED is “in the very early stages” of developing onsite housing for teachers at schools in some areas, though there […]

Schools could be fined if pupils are removed to home education

The government is consulting on whether schools should be fined if pupils are taken off their rolls to be educated at home. A consultation on home education launched today asks if parents should be forced to register home-educated pupils, and whether schools should face a “financial consequence” if parents withdraw children to teach them at home. The […]

Ombudsman to look into DfE’s handling of information requests about school closure

The parliamentary ombudsman is to investigate the government’s handling of a school closure in Coventry. Clare McArthur, a campaigner and former teacher, has complained about the way Department for Education (DfE) officials handled requests for information about the closure of Woodlands Academy. She received the final documents she wanted in January this year, 18 months […]

Two charities to run breakfast clubs in 1,775 schools from the spring

Two charities, Family Action and Magic Breakfast, have been chosen to deliver breakfast clubs in around 1,775 schools from this spring. The two organisations will split £26 million in government funding raised by the so-called “sugar tax” on soft drinks, and will operate in the most deprived areas of the country, including the government’s opportunity areas. […]

Teachers reduce hours and pay to manage workload

Teachers are being forced to go part-time in order to manage their workload, the Department for Education has admitted. Researchers carried out 75 interviews with full- and part-time teachers and leaders last summer to find out about what causes longer hours at work, and how schools are addressing the problem. The resulting report into ‘Exploring […]

NAHT launches commission to investigate school accountability

The way schools are held to account will be investigated by a new independent commission that seeks to find a “credible alternative” to the system of inspections and league tables – and Ofsted and the DfE have promised to get involved. The commission, which will propose an “alternative vision for the future” of school accountability […]

Secretive private school warning notices published for the first time

The Department for Education has finally published the warning notices it issued to underperforming private schools, over two years after a Schools Week campaign first pressed to make the information public. Nine notices issued in September and October 2017 were published today. They reveal how each school failed to meet national standards for education, safeguarding, governance and […]

DfE doesn’t check whether academy leaders are ‘fit and proper’

Academy trustees and senior leaders are not being properly vetted for their suitability to run schools, the government’s spending watchdog has warned. Labour MP Meg Hillier, the chair of the powerful public accounts committee said she was “concerned” by the latest report from the National Audit Office, which found that people taking senior jobs at […]

Cost of regional schools commissioners soars to £26 million

The cost of the national and regional schools commissioners has sky-rocketed, from just £4 million when the roles were established in 2014 to £26 million last year, Schools Week can reveal. The price tag for the commissioners and their teams is expected to rise again for the current financial year, to an estimated £31.2 million, […]