DfE | Schools Week

Most teachers and parents fear EBacc could narrow curriculum

More than two thirds of respondents to the DfE’s consultation on the English Baccalaureate are worried that schools will be unable to maintain a broad and balanced curriculum as the number of pupils taking it increases. The results of the Department for Education’s consultation on ‘Implementing the English Baccalaureate’, released today, show that 71 per cent […]

Education graduates earn more than lawyers, figures show

School career advisors are being asked to talk up the earning potential of teaching after new government figures suggested that those studying education courses at university earned more than law graduates. A report from the Department for Education, published on Tuesday as part of its longitudinal education outcomes study, has revealed how much university graduates […]

Investigation: DfE ‘hid’ damaging Lord Nash academy cost emails

The Department for Education has attempted to hide internal emails showing Lord Nash’s intention to massage the presentation of figures that reveal the spiralling costs of rebrokering academies. The investigation reveals potentially damaging revelations about the academies minister – a well-known Conservative party donor – that the government tried to “suppress”, just weeks before the […]

Teachers ‘unable to prepare’ as DfE drags feet over approved qualifications

The Department for Education has given teachers conflicting messages about when an approved list of 2019 technical and vocational qualifications will be finalised, leading many unable to prepare their courses. The approved list of qualifications, which can count towards performance tables, was meant to be updated in March, but some qualification bodies are still waiting […]

Film company targets ‘grammar teachers’ in recruitment video

Grammar school teachers are being singled out to feature in a “government-led” TV campaign, although the Department for Education (DfE) says it has not commissioned a production company. Just So Films has asked full-time teachers in secondary “state and grammar schools” to get in touch if they want to feature in a film that will […]

National College no longer approves teacher training providers

The government has stripped more powers from the National College for Teaching and Leadership, telling schools to submit requests to become a teacher training provider directly to the Department for Education. The move is a “significant” step towards the government’s absorption of the college, say experts. Originally opened to provide a standalone teacher training agency, […]

Government considers PISA tests for 5 year olds

The government is considering taking part in a pilot of tablet-based tests for some of the youngest children in England’s primary schools. Department for Education officials are understood to have expressed an interest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) international early learning and child well-being study (IELS) next year. A final decision […]

Department for Education indefinitely delays move to new offices

The Department for Education’s plan to save £19 million a year by moving offices has been indefinitely postponed, Schools Week has learned. The move was proposed in 2014 when the government announced it would move about 1,600 staff from Sanctuary Buildings to the Old Admiralty Building in Whitehall, overlooking Buckingham Palace, by this summer. BAM […]

Top DfE civil servant blames poor communication for an accounting blunder

The Department for Education’s top civil servant has admitted that better communication could have solved an administrative error that led to it being the only department hauled in front of MPs over poor accounting. Jonathan Slater (pictured), the DfE’s permanent secretary, told the House of Commons public accounts committee on Wednesday that the need for […]