Ofsted will not name the 300 schools that could be off-rolling pupils in case it alerts them to upcoming inspections. The inspectorate’s annual report in December said the schools were identified as having particularly high levels of pupil movement in years 10 and 11. However, Sean Harford, Ofsted’s national director ... read more

When educators discuss the management of behaviour in schools, they often seem to fall into one of two camps: those who favour a restorative approach and those who believe that a strict sanction-based system is the only solution. As a senior leader in a school that is currently redefining its ... read more

Children who are excluded are more likely to develop a mental health condition than their peers who stay in mainstream, a leading researcher told the Mental Health in Education conference on Wednesday. “It won’t surprise anyone that children with mental health conditions, particularly the more disruptive ones – ADHD and ... read more

Academy trusts are raising millions of pounds through fundraising, with one trust posting “record” levels of parental donations. Sector leaders say the findings, based on annual accounts for some of the country’s biggest trusts, show there is a “deepening social divide” as government funding is squeezed. Ormiston Academies Trust has ... read more

New model articles should simplify and clarify the operation of multi-academy trusts with Church of England schools, says Susan Newell Earlier this month the Department for Education published some long-awaited new model articles for multi-academy trusts that include Church of England schools. These will significantly improve governance and clarify the ... read more

Most trials carried out by a major educational research charity “don’t tell us anything” about whether an intervention had an impact on pupil learning, researchers have warned. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) was founded in 2011 under Michael Gove, the former education secretary, with a £125 million grant to fund ... read more

Calls to replace GCSEs and A-levels with a “holistic baccalaureate” have been branded a “non-starter” by an advocate of a similar model. Tom Sherrington, a trustee of the National Baccalaureate Trust, warned that “headline-grabbing” comments made this week by Robert Halfon, the chair of the education select committee, and a ... read more

The Department for Education has promised a competition for innovative edtech solutions to promote part-time and flexible working. But how could this work? James Browning takes a look At the end of last month the government published its long-awaited teacher recruitment and retention strategy, with Damian Hinds pledging that teacher ... read more

Questions to help you review your key stage 3 curriculum – one big history department @Histassoc Although this post focuses on key stage 3 curriculum design around history, there are some really useful pointers for anyone planning their ks3 curriculum in terms of the decision-making around what matters and what ... read more

Until there is evidence that “zero tolerance” behaviour policies work, schools should prioritise approaches that have proved successful, a professor of child psychiatry told the Mental Health in Education conference on Wednesday. “Whilst a lack of evidence is not evidence of lack, there is very little that suggests that those ... read more

The first non-faith school to be inspected after joining the lauded Star Academies Trust has been placed in special measures – becoming the trust’s only school not to be judged ‘outstanding’. Star, which the government has called an “expert schools sponsor”, took over Highfield Leadership academy in Blackpool in 2016 ... read more

An education foundation left out negative findings from a study of its flagship literacy programme. In December the KPMG Foundation, the charity arm of the global consultancy firm, released the findings of a major study into the Reading Recovery programme. The report said pupils on the programme, which the charity’s ... read more

An academy trust urged to expand by its regional schools commissioner was later rapped by the government for taking on schools that were struggling with debt. Board minutes from September 2017 to September 2018 for the Nova Education Trust show that it was encouraged to expand by John Edwards, the ... read more

The government handed out nearly £4.5 million to prop up cash-strapped academies run by the failed Schools Company Trust during the year it announced closure. A Schools Week investigation has also uncovered that the new trusts brought in to take over the Schools Company academies will now be saddled with ... read more

A landmark review of exclusions will demand the government revives plans to make schools retain responsibility for the results of pupils they exclude. Leaked documents show that the Timpson review will call for a “significant shift” for schools, alternative provision settings and councils, demanding that ministers “remove the potential” for ... read more