teachers | Schools Week

Coronavirus: Don’t judge teachers on 2020 assessment results, DfE tells schools

Schools should not use 2020 assessment data to judge teachers’ performance, the Department for Education has said. New guidance from the government also confirms that this year’s GCSE and A-level results won’t be used to assess free school, teaching school and English and maths hub applications. It comes after joint union guidance told schools not […]

Coronavirus: Teachers say a special ‘thank you’ to NHS heroes

Teachers have joined the hundreds of thousands of people volunteering to help the NHS to say “thank you” to “incredible” hospital staff whose care has transformed their own lives. The Royal Voluntary Service last week appealed for 250,000 volunteers to help with the NHS coronavirus response. The target was reached within 24 hours, and at […]

Hinds to announce wellbeing focus at ASCL conference

Damian Hinds has commissioned his fifth advisory group since taking office – this time looking at boosting school teacher and leader wellbeing. The education secretary will tell the annual conference of school leaders’ union ASCL today the group will lead the government’s efforts to look at “how teachers and school leaders can be better supported […]

New free school applications process reveals workload push

The government has been accused of “unsubtly crow-barring” its need to reduce teacher workload into the new wave of free school applications. In their initial bid applicants must now demonstrate “clear and specific plans” for managing workload, an extra requirement on top of proving the area has low educational standards and needs more school places, […]

Ministers mull planning rules change to create teacher housing

The government is considering making it easier for schools to build on-site housing for teachers. In its teacher recruitment and retention strategy, the Department for Education has pledged to explore potential changes to planning rules if it identifies enough demand for teacher housing projects. At the same time, LocatEd, the DfE’s property arm, is in […]

‘It will have a long-lasting impact’ – Damian Hinds reflects on his new strategy

Following the most important announcement of Damian Hinds’s political career to date, Schools Week accompanied the education secretary on a school visit in Kent to hear more about his lauded recruitment and retention strategy. A wide-ranging plan to tackle the growing crisis in teacher recruitment and retention will have a “long-lasting” impact, the education secretary […]

Recruitment and retention strategy pledges £130m for new teacher induction

The education secretary has finally unveiled his teacher recruitment and retention strategy, pledging a £130 million reduced timetable and two-year training package for new teachers and an end to onerous floor and coasting schools standards. The strategy, which builds on a number of announcements made by Damian Hinds last year, will be published today, more […]

Private school caps value of Christmas gifts for teachers

A prestigious private girls’ school has written to parents urging them to cap the value of Christmas gifts for teachers to avoid “awkward” situations. St Helen and St Katharine school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, which charges £16,470 a year, has warned parents that its policy on giving and receiving gifts sets out a “number of restrictions” […]

Data helps us intervene early, says academy trust

Trusts are concerned that a new government diktat to pull back from data collection will stop them making rapid interventions for struggling pupils. The Department for Education this week pledged to cut out unnecessary workload so teachers could “devote their energies to teaching”. It followed several recommendations in a Workload Advisory Group report, which were […]