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22 April 2026

Tag: education policy

Schools minister admits Shanghai maths teachers only do ‘two lessons a day’

Teachers will not share the “luxury” of greater time for lesson planning enjoyed by their counterparts in south Asia, despite the government’s major £41 million scheme to adopt their “mastery” maths model, Nick Gibb has admitted. Speaking at the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education conference today, the schools minister announced that half of England’s primary […]

Prime minister Theresa May: What does this mean for schools?

Theresa May could soon become our new prime minister after her only opponent in the Conservative leadership race Andrea Leadsom pulled out. Here’s what it could mean for schools… 1. No more Nicky? May is likely to reshuffle most of the cabinet’s posts once she takes over at Number 10. Nicky Morgan, who backed Michael […]

Apprenticeships: how the levy and hiring targets will affect schools and multi-academy trusts

In recent weeks, readers have asked how two key apprenticeship policies will affect schools and academy trusts. They sound similar, but are actually independent policies based on different criteria. Conflating them is easy, but wrong. Political reporter Freddie Whittaker, who knows his stuff on this, takes a look. First, there’s the apprenticeship levy. This is […]

PFI must not be put into the ‘too difficult’ drawer

PFI contracts can work, says Julia Harnden, but they also can have a negative impact on school finances PFI is an acronym that has caused huge controversy. The private finance initiative has transformed the social infrastructure of the UK, enabling arguably the biggest investment in schools, hospitals and other public projects since the Victorian era. […]

Schools must report EAL data differently from September – are you ready?

From September, schools will need to inform the government of each child’s country of birth, nationality and their level of proficiency in English if it is not their first language. Almost one in five (1.25 million) children in England are classed as having English as an additional language, but current data about their performance is […]

Skills shake-up won’t stop schools offering A-levels and BTECs

A planned overhaul of post-16 education won’t stop schools offering A-levels and vocational courses like BTECs together, the author of a government review has said. Lord Sainsbury (above right) has told Schools Week that a shake-up prompted by his inquiry into technical education in England would not prevent schools from offering BTEC and other “applied […]

Headteachers Roundtable to draft alternative white paper

An influential group of leading headteachers has launched a think tank to crowdsource an alternative white paper that focuses on classroom concerns rather than “political diktat”. The Headteachers’ Roundtable (HTRT) held a conference last Friday at the Sheffield Institute of Education, part of Sheffield Hallam University, to discuss the content of its own proposed policy […]

Pupil absence fines soar, but smaller proportion lead to prosecution

The number of fines issued to parents for unauthorised absences of their children at school has increased almost five-fold in the last five years, but a smaller proportion are being prosecuted for failing to pay. Figures released today by the Department for Education show that 151,125 fines were issued in 2014/15, compared to 53,370 in […]