schools | Schools Week

Struggling schools need ‘support, not public tellings-off’

An academy trust given a termination warning notice for one of its schools has called the procedure “demotivating” and “against the basic principles of education”. The Dean Trust was sent the notice by the Department for Education in May after its Dean Trust Wigan school was rated ‘inadequate’ after an Ofsted inspection in February last […]

RSC’s push to get communities on board not matched by academy guidance

The Department for Education has quietly removed the need for schools to be “answerable” to communities and parents from its governance handbook. It comes in spite of renewed emphasis in recent weeks on community involvement, with Claire Burton, the regional schools commissioner for south east England and south London, saying academising schools must show the […]

An inset day on sexual abuse ‘won’t cut it’, says Spielman

Amanda Spielman has warned schools that a one-off safeguarding inset day alone “won’t cut it” as the sector looks to address sexual abuse and harassment among pupils. In response to Ofsted’s review of sex abuse in schools, the Department for Education pledged to “encourage” schools to include relationship, health and sex education curriculum and safeguarding […]

DfE officials plan schools white paper to deliver Williamson’s ‘vision’ for schools

Gavin Williamson has pledged to set out a “broader vision” for the school system later this year, with officials understood to be planning a white paper. That’s one of those key planks, finishing those reforms that were started back in 2010 Asked about his plans for schools, Williamson said the system would be “moving over […]

Schools, pupils and their characteristics 2021: 5 things we learned

The secondary and special school populations continue to grow in England, the latest data shows, with a slight decrease in the number of primary pupils and a big fall in those attending pupil referral units. The Department for Education has published its annual schools, pupils and their characteristics data collection, which is based on the […]

DfE to unveil vision for schools, and 4 other things we learned from Gavin Williamson at the Festival of Education

Gavin Williamson has pledged to set out a “broader vision” for the school system later this year. The education secretary this afternoon addressed the Festival of Education, which is taking place virtually over the next two weeks. He spoke about his wider plans for schools, his regrets over last year’s exams and plans for primary […]

Campaigners fear another ‘hostile environment’ over EU pupils’ status

Schools will face “inappropriate” pressure to snoop on EU pupils’ immigration status from next month, say heads and campaigners afraid of a “hostile environment” damaging relationships with parents. EU nationals who have not applied for settled status by June 30 will become undocumented and could risk losing the right to work or their children’s right […]

School drops sports course questioned by Ofsted

A Liverpool school has dropped a controversial sports science qualification that Ofsted said might not be in the pupils’ “best interests”. St Francis Xavier’s College, one of ten schools found not to be providing effective education during the pandemic, said it decided to drop the course before the inspectors’ visit. A monitoring inspection conducted in […]

Bring back face coverings in secondary schools and vaccinate pupils on site, say unions

Face coverings should be reintroduced in secondary school classrooms and for students in communal areas, unions representing teachers and support staff have said, amid growing fears about the impact of the Delta variant of Covid-19. The National Education Union, along with support staff unions Unison, the GMB and Unite, have also said pupils should be […]