Gavin Williamson | Schools Week

£4m Latin excellence programme: What you need to know

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has vowed to tackle Latin’s “reputation as an elitist subject” with a new scheme to boost take-up of the subject among disadvantaged pupils. He unveiled the £4 million “Latin excellence programme” over the weekend, in a move welcomed by classics professor Mary Beard but panned by others. Here is what you […]

Study finds pupil premium cuts £43m worse than DfE admits

Schools will miss out on £43 million more in pupil premium funding for the poorest children than admitted by the government, new analysis suggests. The Education Datalab research indicates almost 104,000 children receiving free school meals will not attract extra funding after the government’s “stealth cut”. The Department for Education’s own analysis published last month […]

Williamson slammed for ‘ignoring’ concerns about scrapping BTECs

Twelve education bodies have today slammed the education secretary for “ignoring” their concerns and ploughing ahead with plans to scrap the majority of BTECs. In a letter to Gavin Williamson, sector leaders reiterate that disadvantaged students have the “most to lose” and that it is “impossible to square the government’s stated ambition to ‘level up’ […]

MPs tell government to ‘shake up status quo’ on home education

MPs have slammed an “astonishing” lack of data on the number of children educated at home, and called for more powers for councils to check on their progress and welfare. School leaders backed calls for the government to introduce a national register of children educated at home, and to investigate a recent rise amid concerns […]

Williamson’s ‘irrational’ refusal to revoke academy order quashed by High Court

The education secretary’s refusal to revoke an academy order for a primary school in the West Midlands has been ruled “irrational” and quashed by the High Court. Governors of Yew Tree Primary School in Sandwell brought a judicial review of a decision by education secretary Gavin Williamson to refuse to revoke the order imposed on […]

Treasury marks DfE’s 11,500-word homework laying out its vision

The Department for Education has published an 11,590-word “outcome delivery plan,” detailing the wide-ranging goals and performance metrics it agreed with the Treasury last year to justify its funding. Sector leaders welcomed the move to greater transparency and accountability. But they said the DfE’s plan lacked detail overall and lacked metrics in significant areas, including […]

Academy transfers fall to four-year low during pandemic

The government has spent £38.8 million moving academies between trusts since 2014, official figures show, but transfers fell to a four-year low during the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysis of new Department for Education data shows a significant drop in academies switching trusts over the past financial year, with both voluntary transfers and forced rebrokering drying up […]

School repairs derailed by ‘inexplicable’ CIF delays and material shortages

Schools have been forced to delay building repairs by up to a year after the government awarded condition improvement funding almost two months later than usual. Some of the 1,199 schools which received CIF awards last month face an anxious wait to hear if contractors and the DfE will agree to defer projects no longer […]

New chair appointed to teachers’ pay body as controversial pay freeze looms

A new chair will take over the School Teachers’ Review Body from September, amid controversy over the upcoming public sector pay freeze. The STRB advises the prime minister and education secretary on teachers’ pay and responsibilities in England, but unions have recently accused the government of undermining its independence. Dr Patricia Rice, a senior research […]