All posts tagged: education policy

Labour’s academy direction powers rehashed from Tory bill

Labour’s academy direction powers rehashed from Tory bill

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Opposition has been critical of proposed power for the education secretary to direct academies to fulfil their duties Opposition has been critical of proposed power for the education secretary to direct academies to fulfil their duties More from this theme Recent articles New laws handing the secretary of state wide-ranging powers to issue academy compliance orders are a rehash of a similar policy in the Conservatives’ schools bill three years ago. The opposition has been highly critical of section 43 of the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which would give the education secretary the power to give trusts whatever “directions” she “considers appropriate”. These could be issued when a trust has “breached or is likely to breach a relevant duty, or otherwise has acted or is proposing to act unreasonably with respect to the performance of a relevant duty”, the bill states. Neil O’Brien, the shadow education minister, this week described the power as “untrammelled” and “a sort of general power to direct academies on a range of subjects”. He suggested the bill should be …

Brighton trust to close after ‘GAG pooling’ controversy

Brighton trust to close after ‘GAG pooling’ controversy

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MAT at centre of first ‘GAG pooling’ strikes will transfer schools to other trusts MAT at centre of first ‘GAG pooling’ strikes will transfer schools to other trusts More from this theme Recent articles An under-pressure academy trust will close and transfer all its schools to alternative chains after fall-out from a “GAG pooling” controversy. Staff at five University of Brighton Academies Trust (UoBAT) schools went on strike last year over the group’s financial model. The issue landed in Parliament before Christmas as schools minister Catherine McKinnell confirmed UoBAT was “committed to ending” the policy. Schools Week had revealed one of the trust’s academies had about 20 per cent of its cash retained centrally, while another had 17 per cent held back. But today bosses announced they have “informed the Department for Education of their desire to seek to transfer the academies… to other academy trusts”. “The trustees are committed to improving the outcomes for all young people at every stage of their education and view this significant step as the best way for this to be achieved,” they added. In all, UoBAT …

Is VAT on fees really to blame for private school closures?

Is VAT on fees really to blame for private school closures?

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More from this theme Recent articles A deluge of media fury has blamed recent private school closures on the government’s decision to impose VAT on school fees. One commentator even claimed the move was “akin to what we have seen from Vladimir Putin”.  But a Schools Week investigation has found that fewer than a dozen schools have publicly blamed the new VAT policy for their closure.  So how accurate are the headlines? Schools Week investigates …  What Labour did  In the run-up to the general election, Labour published a manifesto proposal to remove the VAT exemption that applies to private school fees.  Once in power, the government confirmed that private school fees would be charged VAT at the standard 20 per cent rate from this month.  Labour estimated the policy would raise £460 million in 2024-25, rising to £1.5 billion the following year, to be spent on public services including state schools.  It forecast that imposing VAT on fees will result in 37,000 pupils leaving the private sector, about 6% of the current private school population.  Since the announcement, blowback …

Keep Latin funding for six more months, Phillipson urged

Keep Latin funding for six more months, Phillipson urged

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Schools involved in the Latin Excellence Programme have written to the education secretary to ask for an extension Schools involved in the Latin Excellence Programme have written to the education secretary to ask for an extension More from this theme Recent articles School leaders have asked Bridget Phillipson to fund the government’s state school Latin scheme for six more months to help soften the blow of losing support. The £4m Latin Excellence Programme (LEP), designed to broaden access to the typically “elitist” subject, was supposed to run until 2026. But the DfE’s decision to stop funding from next month has left pupils facing disruption and sparked wider uproar. In a letter sent to the education secretary on Wednesday and seen by Schools Week, leaders of schools involved said that ending the scheme in February would place a “financial burden” on them. It would force them to divert funds from already stretched budgets to continue Latin provision for the academic year. MAT Future Academies – which spearheads the scheme, through its Centre for Latin Excellence – …

Phillipson faces first education committee grilling

Phillipson faces first education committee grilling

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Education secretary set to be questioned by MPs over SEND, wellbeing bill and private school fees Education secretary set to be questioned by MPs over SEND, wellbeing bill and private school fees More from this theme Recent articles Bridget Phillipson will face questions about SEND provision and charging VAT on private school fees during her first education committee hearing next week. The education secretary will also be grilled over aspects of the new children’s wellbeing and schools bill, including how unique identifier codes and a national register of children not in school will be developed. Susan Acland Hood Members of the committee may also examine why the legislation does not include provisions for eligible children to be auto-enrolled for free school meals. On SEND, issues like how to make mainstream settings more inclusive and what action will be taken to stop councils from declaring effective bankruptcy over high needs costs in future years will be tackled. Phillipson will also be questioned over the potential impact VAT on private school fees could have, the government’s progress …

Computing hubs scrapped, with languages scheme scaled back

Computing hubs scrapped, with languages scheme scaled back

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More from this theme Recent articles Ministers have scrapped funding for computing hubs and are scaling back similar support in modern foreign languages, with the “last-minute decision” putting school finances and jobs in jeopardy. Schools Week revealed before Christmas a government scheme to help state schools teach Latin was to be canned in March, leaving pupils and schools facing “significant disruption”. As part of the same cost-cutting drive, multi-million pound “hub” schemes to support schools boost the quality of teaching and uptake in two shortage subjects have also been axed. Language hubs are expected to be “reshaped” following cuts, while computing providers say they’ve been left “in a precarious position because we have no information about what the landscape will be like”. Just three of the Conservatives’ subject hub programmes will remain as Labour said it is taking “difficult decisions” to cut spending and plug a fiscal blackhole. ‘Don’t abandon schools-led vision’ David Thomas, a DfE policy adviser under the last administration, urged the government not to abandon the “emphasis of schools supporting schools”. David …

Salary rises needed would cost £7bn

Salary rises needed would cost £7bn

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More from this theme Recent articles Attracting an extra 6,500 teachers through wage rises alone would cost the government more than £7 billion a year, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research. An NFER report said ministers would have to hike salaries by almost 10 per cent for the next three years in a row if looking to pay as the sole incentive. Pepe DiIasio The charity warned Labour was “highly unlikely” to hit the recruitment target if it does nothing – meaning the introduction of new measures is essential. Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said the findings reflected “the scale of the challenge the new government faces in meeting its target”. “While we welcome that commitment, the stark reality is that even this number of teachers is unlikely to be sufficient. “This is the result of years of pay erosion and workload pressures created by the previous government’s dismal record of expecting ever more of schools and colleges while failing to provide them with sufficient funding and resources.” …

New teacher training providers could be accredited in future

New teacher training providers could be accredited in future

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More from this theme Recent articles New teacher training providers may have “future opportunities” to gain accreditation and enter the market, a Department for Education official has said. The government’s 2021 ITT market review forced providers to go through a bruising re-accreditation process. Sixty-eight teacher trainers, responsible for training 16 per cent of all trainees in 2022-23, lost out. This sparked fears teacher supply could be hit and that ITT cold spots might emerge. A re-accreditation round will launch next year, but won’t be open to new providers. But Claire Plasser, team leader of teacher training and recruitment at the Department for Education today told the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers annual conference that would-be ITT providers might still have a chance to become accredited in the future. “Looking to the future we want to work with you to support schools to meet the workforce challenges they’re facing, which may mean expanding your current provision to train more teachers where there’s demand from schools and from candidates,” she said. “It may also mean future …

‘Bigger academy trusts wanted to ignore small schools’

‘Bigger academy trusts wanted to ignore small schools’

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DfE regions group ‘pushed back’ against obstinate CEOs to make sure small schools were ‘looked after’ DfE regions group ‘pushed back’ against obstinate CEOs to make sure small schools were ‘looked after’ More from this theme Recent articles The bosses of big trusts told academy commissioners that they would only take large schools and ignore small ones at the height of the Conservatives’ MAT drive, a regional director has said.  But Andrew Warren, regional director for the West Midlands, said he decided to “push back” against obstinate CEOs to ensure that smaller schools were “looked after and viable”.  Andrew Warren The senior Department for Education official made the admission at the Schools and Academies Show this week, as he revealed he has also lobbied diocese chiefs to share staff between village schools to keep them afloat.  “Some years ago, when the government strategy was for academy growth at pace, some of the [larger] trust leaders would say, ‘I’ll only take a big school… I’m not going to take a small school’,” Warren recalled.  “And [my …

Pupils saw standards slip on £10m programme

Pupils saw standards slip on £10m programme

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More from this theme Recent articles Pupils in schools supported through a £10 million government scheme to improve behaviour say it actually got worse, an interim evaluation report found. However staff reported much more “positive” changes in behaviour, and also felt “more supported” after the scheme. Schools in the poorest areas also benefitted more, the Department for Education-commissioned report, released this morning, showed. Staff positive, pupils less so Launched in 2021, the behaviour hubs programme, led by government tsar Tom Bennett, matches “lead” schools, which are known for having a good culture, with “partner” schools looking to improve. Tom Bennett More than 650 have been given support either through a “core” 12-month offer, a one-year “extended” plan for those needing personalised help or a two-year course for MATs wanting to implement change across several academies.  When comparing the results of surveys conducted in the first term of the programme to those received towards its end, pupil reported a “negative but small” change in behaviour. Overall, the proportion “rating behaviour positively decreased from 27 per cent …