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13 April 2026

Tag: DfE

DfE school land company plans finalised

The Department for Education (DfE) has finalised the formation of an “arm’s length” private company to buy and develop sites for new free schools. Schools Week can reveal senior officials at the DfE have signed off  plans to establish the PropCo, which will be called LocatEd. The company will take over the responsibility from the […]

DfE heading for £180m overspend in Priority School Building Programme, report reveals

The government is heading for an £180 million overspend on just one phase of a major school rebuilding project – with warnings of delays in delivering its multi-billion pound scheme. The cabinet office has published details of all its major projects today, which included an annual update on the progress of the Department for Education’s […]

DfE multi-academy trust league tables: Who are the best and worst performers?

The Department for Education has today published its own “league tables” for multi-academy trusts, fulfilling a manifesto pledge and promises by ministers for more transparency over the academies programme. The publication of the data confirms a series of earlier analysis by experts that shows there are large differences between the performance of academy chains. For […]

Teachers’ strike disrupts a third of schools but only 12 per cent closed

About a third of schools in England were fully or partially closed as a result of a walkout of teachers today, the government has revealed. The Department for Education has confirmed that 11.9 per cent of schools were closed and 21.4 per cent were only partially open, based on data for about 94 per cent of schools […]

46 independent schools shut last year

At least 46 independent schools have closed in the past year. The January school census, published in July every year, shows the number fell from 2,357 last year, to 2,311 this year. The number of pupil referral units also dropped by nine. Despite a rise in the number of state-funded schools (12 primaries and 20 […]

DfE silent on pupil catch-up premium for 2016-17

Schools will continue to receive extra money to help pupils who fall behind in reading and maths, but criteria for deciding who will receive the cash — and how much — is still unknown. The Department for Education confirmed the catch-up premium will continue to be paid to secondary schools in 2016-17, but is still […]

Reports delayed by the referendum could be published soon

A number of reports delayed by the EU referendum could soon be released by the Department for Education. The government has pushed back publication of a number of key reports in the run up to yesterday’s vote, with some concern raised about the content of the reports and the reasons behind delay. Now that purdah, […]

What would a remain vote mean for education?

What would a Remain vote mean for the Department for Education and schools? Schools Week asked Amy Finch for her predictions In the event of Remain, it will be business as usual for most of the government. The prime minister will continue to drive his “life chances” strategy, and the chancellor will push forward on […]