Nick Gibb | Schools Week

Gibb becomes ‘school standards’ minister in DfE reshuffle

A shake-up of ministerial roles at the Department for Education has been announced, with some interesting changes following the appointment of new education secretary Justine Greening. Nick Gibb, the former schools minister, is getting an expanded brief under a new “school standards” remit, while many key responsibilities have been passed to Lord Nash, one of […]

Doomed spelling and grammar test cost government £1 million

The government spent almost £1 million developing this year’s doomed key stage 1 spelling and grammar test, Schools Week can exclusively reveal. Information released under the freedom of information act shows the Department for Education spent at least £952,602 on developing the spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPAG) test for seven-year-olds, only to have to abandon […]

Gibb dodges grammar schools question

Schools minister Nick Gibb dodged a question on whether he thinks new grammar schools should be allowed to open, despite pleas from the education community for the government to ditch the idea. Gibb was probed on whether the government should remove a ban on new grammar schools, thought to be something being weighed up by Prime Minister […]

Department for Education reshuffle: Meet the ministers

You would be forgiven for thinking the new ministerial line-up at the Department for Education looks familiar. Justine Greening, who replaced Nicky Morgan as education secretary last week, will proceed with most of her predecessor’s team intact, but confirmation of who is doing what is likely to come later this week. Here’s what we know… Nick Gibb […]

Schools minister Nick Gibb stays in Department for Education role

Nick Gibb appears to have held on to his schools minister role, with prime minister Theresa May confirming this morning he will remain a minister of state under the Department for Education (DfE). Although unconfirmed, Gibb is likely to keep his schools brief. He is joined in the department by Robert Halfon who is likely […]

Absence fine refunds should be refused, schools minister tells local councils

Councils should not refund parents fined for taking their children out of school, the schools minister has said, after a surge in requests following a landmark court case. Nick Gibb has written to local authorities to say that the government expects refund requests, made after a High Court ruling in favour of a father who took his […]

Initial teacher training expert reports due today

The government is to finally publish its much-delayed reports into initial teacher training and professional development. Three expert groups were commissioned last year to look closely at initial teacher training (ITT), following an initial review by Sir Andrew Carter. Originally expected to report much earlier in the year, the groups were tasked with looking at […]

Schools minister Nick Gibb backs Gove and Johnson for leadership — NOT Nicky Morgan

Schools minister Nick Gibb has publicly announced his support for Boris Johnson as the next Conservative party leader, thereby snubbing Nicky Morgan – the education secretary and his departmental boss – who this morning confirmed she is canvassing support for her own leadership bid. In a tweet he wrote: I'm backing Boris. Boris Johnson and […]

‘No excuses’ is not a solution for angry teens

Insisting disadvantage can be fixed with a traditional academic curriculum and a strong dose of discipline is not engaging with the issue. That method did nothing for my sister, and it will do nothing for others like her, says Kiran Gill Last term there was a predictable exam hullabaloo when school GCSE data was published. […]