Nicky Morgan | Schools Week

Six steps the government must take to win back support from headteachers

More than 50 headteachers have this week signed an open letter to education secretary Nicky Morgan claiming her government has plunged the education system into chaos. The heads have put forward six key proposals to improve the education system. Steve Hitchcock, headteacher of St Peter’s CofE Primary School in Devon, who helped organise the letter, […]

Less of a U-turn and more of a Z-turn

Do you remember last Saturday? It was boiling hot and the world was sunny – not least because Nicky Morgan had announced on Friday afternoon she wouldn’t be making all schools into academies after all. Except, it wasn’t that straightforward. (It never is). At 6.30am on Saturday I therefore found myself explaining to listeners of […]

Morgan to define ‘underperforming’ councils with consultation and vote

The definition of “underperforming” councils that will be used to force schools to convert to academies will be set out in a consultation and put to a vote of MPs, Nicky Morgan has said. The education secretary told the House of Commons today that new plans to convert all schools in areas where a council is […]

Will small schools be able to breathe a big sigh of relief?

In a week of big news – threatened strikes, parent boycotts, backbenchers shouting about academies – there has been one quiet sigh of relief. And one awkward question. Buried in the middle of her speech at the weekend’s union conference, Nicky Morgan promised that “no good small school will close” due to “structural changes” – […]

Government u-turns on forced academisation plan

The government has abandoned plans to force all schools to become academies, the government has confirmed. This is a u-turn on proposals announced in the budget and developed in the education white paper. It comes in the wake of threats of strikes by teachers and school leaders in opposition to the plans. Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, has […]

No academies u-turn announcement as Morgan dodges questions

Questions about the future role of local authorities in schools went unanswered as Nicky Morgan faced a grilling from MPs about plans to convert all schools into academies. During education question time in the Commons this afternoon, the education secretary dodged several questions about reports that councils could be given the right to set up multi-academy […]

To reduce teacher workload, the DfE should lead by example

The timing of the publication of the workload principles and the recommendations will do little to change policy, says Ross McGill You could be pardoned for missing the publication of the workload principles from the Department for Education (DfE). Why? Because it was Easter and many teachers had long-forgotten their lesson plans and marking. Yet […]

Morgan: ‘No reverse gear’ over academisation plans

Although education secretary Nicky Morgan faced a relatively polite reception at the NASUWT conference, a few of her comments prompted teachers to shout and laugh at her. Ms Morgan, the first Conservative education minister to speak at the event in almost 20 years, was heckled by one delegate when she spoke about children “suffering” in […]

Morgan to be grilled by MPs over white paper academies plan

Education secretary Nicky Morgan will be grilled by MPs over her plans for education next month. Ms Morgan will appear in front of the House of Commons education committee on Wednesday April 27 to answer questions about her educational excellence everywhere white paper, which was released last week. Plans in the document to turn every state […]