schools | Schools Week

Coronavirus: Williamson pledges to ‘work with the sector’ on school reopenings

Gavin Williamson has promised he will “work with the sector” to decide how schools should reopen, but only “when the time is right”. The education secretary also promised the “difficulties that social distancing present” in schools will be “taken into account”. But he reiterated “no timetable has been set” for reopening. Schools have been closed […]

Coronavirus: Too early to say when schools will reopen, says government science adviser

It is too early to say when schools will reopen, the government’s deputy chief scientific adviser has said. Professor Angela McLean (pictured) told today’s Downing Street press briefing that it would be “completely premature” for her to provide a definitive answer on whether schools would reopen to all pupils before the summer holidays. It follows […]

Schools offer to stay open until 9.30pm to support key workers

Schools in one region are offering to operate between 6am and 9.30pm to provide care for children of key workers as “pressure ramps up” during the coronavirus pandemic. Across Stoke-on-Trent, 10 of the city’s 100 schools have lengthened their opening hours from today to provide safe care for children of NHS workers, firefighters and police. […]

‘They think it’s exclusive…but it’s done on a massive scale’ – inside the glossy mag that charges schools £3,500 for exposure

The Parliamentary Review “misleadingly implied” it was an official government magazine, the advertising watchdog has ruled. A Schools Week investigation now takes a looks behind the scenes at the controversial publication. Last year, we revealed how schools were approached by the Parliamentary Review through letters from senior politicians, including Lord Pickles, the former communities secretary, […]

DfE took no action against schools that ignored new careers duty

The Baker clause has been labelled a “law without teeth” after it emerged the government did not take any action against schools for non-compliance in the first year of its existence. The Department for Education also admitted it only wrote to half of the trusts it originally claimed to have contacted in relation to non-compliance. […]

Pupils face £2 ‘fines’ to get their phones back

A school has been accused of holding pupils’ mobile phones to “ransom” after charging parents £2 to return confiscated devices. South Wigston high school in Leicester bans mobile phones as it says the devices are a major tool for bullying and a distraction to learning. However, its electronic device policy says that a £2 contribution […]

Revealed: The schools saving thousands slashing executive salaries

Some smaller trusts are slashing inflated leadership salaries – with one saving a six-figure sum in the process. Four trusts, each with just two schools apiece, have reduced pay after facing government scrutiny for the amount pocketed by their chief executives. The Transforming Lives Educational Trust, with one secondary and one infant school in Warwickshire, […]

DfE rejects 7,000 requests by schools to wipe pupils’ GCSE scores

The government has refused nearly 7,000 requests from schools for their pupils’ GCSE scores to be wiped from league tables after applications rocketed following the introduction of Progress 8. Schools can apply for the results of seriously ill pupils or those in police custody or who are home-educated to be “disapplied” from performance data, on […]

Top-rated schools and grammars pocket the most in parental donations

‘Outstanding’-rated schools raise almost twice as much money through parental donations as those rated ‘inadequate’, while grammar schools pick up five times more than their non-selective neighbours, it has been revealed. New figures lay bare the stark discrepancies between how much state schools can raise from parent donations to pay for essentials, including new equipment […]