Government | Schools Week

Capita loses out on £233m Teachers’ Pension Scheme contract to Indian IT firm

Outsourcing firm has run the pension scheme for 27 years, but also recently pulled out of teacher training contract

‘Apocalyptic’: 500 per cent energy price hikes plunge schools into winter crisis

Skyrocketing prices force school leaders into ‘unpalatable’ choices to keep classrooms open this winter

Civil servants spend too much time in a room with other civil servants

After four years in the job, Jonathan Slater was unceremoniously sacked as permanent secretary of the Department for Education. Now he’s calling for much more accountability within the civil service Jonathan Slater is on the phone to one of his daughters. The former Department for Education permanent secretary and his family have just moved to […]

Fair funding reforms won’t be fully rolled out for at least 3 years

Government reforms to make school funding fairer will now not be fully implemented for at least another three years. The Department for Education today launched another consultation over its national funding formula, asking schools how and when it should complete plans to end a “postcode lottery” between council areas. Steve Edmonds, director of advice and […]

Revised safety and sexual harassment guidance: 8 things you need to know

The government has issued beefed-up guidance on tackling sexual misconduct in schools, warning downplaying it as “banter” can normalise abuse and “over-friendly” staff should be reported. The Department for Education has published a draft of revised statutory guidance on keeping children safe in education, with more than 60 updates to the previous version released only […]

How can the government better support MATs?

With speculation rife that the national schools commissioner role might disappear, Michael Pain lays out what he thinks DfE priorites should be going forward As the academy trust sector waves goodbye to the national schools commissioner and enters a period of uncertainty around the long-term future of the role, it is useful to assess just […]