primary schools | Schools Week

Dangerous drivers prompt body cameras for school-duty staff

More headteachers are opting to arm school crossing patrol officers with body cameras to clamp down on dangerous driving during the school run. Harlands primary school in west Sussex last week became the latest school to allow their patrol officer to record incidents and capture evidence of abuse. The decision followed a six-week pilot at […]

2016 key stage 2 SATs: Fewer primary schools below floor standards

Fewer primary schools fell below the new “floor standards” this year compared with last – overturning the government’s expectation that hundreds more would drop below because of the new “tougher” tests. Just 665 schools fell below the standard, according to new figures on key stage 2 assessments for 2016 released this week by the Department […]

EEF trial finds breakfast clubs more effective than infant free school meals

Breakfast clubs are more cost-effective than the government’s flagship £1 billion universal infant free school meals policy in improving outcomes for pupils in disadvantaged areas, according to researchers. A year-long trial in 106 primary schools, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), found pupils made an extra two months’ progress when a free breakfast club […]

Rio Olympics 2016: Where did the Team GB medal winners go to school?

Proud teachers and their schools have heaped praise on former pupils who have contributed to a record medal haul for Team GB at this year’s Rio Olympics. Overall, just under 70 per cent of the medal-winning athletes were educated at state-maintained schools. A handful of athletes, including Tom Daley, the diver, were given scholarships to attend independent schools. […]

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 […]

Top school chef axed as government free school meals funding ‘cuts’ bite

A high-profile school chef, who was in the final of a national TV cooking show, has been made redundant after the government ended its grant to help small schools fund free meals for infant pupils. Jo Wotton (pictured) headed up the in-house catering service at The Saints Way multi-academy trust’s five schools in Cornwall for more than […]

Closing the gap: New report calls for schools to publish disadvantaged pupil progress results on their websites

Schools should publish progress measures for disadvantaged pupils on their websites, a new report has claimed, after revealing stark differences between how schools are closing the gap. The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has today published what it calls the “first comprenhensive analysis” of the progress of disadvantaged pupils over the last decade. The report, titled […]

Aldi back-to-school advert causes outrage

A national supermarket chain has apologised after provoking social media outrage with an advert that many people felt pandered to negative stereotypes of maths in schools. Aldi’s new back to school advert, part of its ‘amazing’ series, was screened on ITV ahead of a ‘special buy’ promotion for £4 school uniforms on July 14. It […]

Year 6 pupils will not have to take times tables tests next summer

Primary schools will not be expected to adminster times tables tests for year 6 pupils next summer, despite an expectation that the tests would be introduced in May. The Department for Education (DfE) sent an email to schools yesterday, not long after Justine Greening was announced as the education secretary, to “reconfirm” there would be […]