faith schools | Schools Week

Legal threats and governor revolts: Inside the mass academisation of Catholic schools

The Catholic MAT drive boosts the DfE’s flagging academy agenda, and dioceses say schools are reaping rewards – but rapid growth and resistance spell danger

Public urged to report illegal schools as pupils taught in ‘squalid’ settings

Ofsted warns parents and councils are paying thousands for ‘woeful’ education in ‘squalid’ conditions at unregistered schools

Archdiocese ‘ruling by diktat’ as schools told to academise by 2023

The Archbishop of Birmingham has said academisation is an “essential” reform to protect Catholic education

Faith school which segregated staff finally shut down

Rabia Boys and Girls School in Luton was accused of “actively undermining” British values by Michael Wilshaw in 2016

DfE pulls plug on new voluntary-aided secondary over ‘lack of need’

One of only three proposed new voluntary-aided schools approved for government set-up cash has been cancelled because of a lack of basic need and an available site. Avanti Schools Trust applied to open a new Hindu secondary school in the London Borough of Redbridge in 2018 after the government reopened the process for new VA […]

Revealed: The 7 new faith school trusts at the heart of the DfE’s academies drive

The government has named the first seven new faith school trusts it is funding to help drive its academisation “vision”. Education secretary Gavin Williamson announced plans for a Diocesan trust formation pilot last month, along with a host of new policies to get more schools to become academies and join trusts. The pilot was established […]

Berridge happy for en-masse conversions in faith schools academies plan

Baroness Berridge said she would not rule out the rapid growth of religious trusts, after announcing over £2 million to help more faith schools become academies. The Department for Education will work with the Catholic Education Service and dioceses across the country to establish a £1.25 million “turnaround” trust based in the north west. An […]

Faith schools waive church attendance requirements

Faith schools are amending requirements for prospective pupils to have attended places of worship in the wake of Covid-19 disruption. Last week, the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) approved a modification put forward by the governing body of Lowdham Church of England primary, in Nottinghamshire, to remove the need for pupils to have attended […]

DfE could lose ‘millions’ under faith academies plan

The government could lose millions in contributions towards capital funding if religious groups convert their schools into academies en-masse. Damian Hinds, the education secretary, met with representatives from major faiths this week to encourage their schools to academise. The meeting follows the disclosure last week that half of all pupils now study in an academy. […]