Ofsted faces a dilemma over its efforts to clampdown on illegal “off-rolling”, as officials weigh up how to check whether headteachers are telling the truth about children who disappear from their books. As part of a beefed-up leadership and management
Julia Skinner’s top school governance blogs Jan 2019
It has been so good to see more governors starting to blog to share their opinions. More please! I’ve been a (wild) governor for many a year @ChrisChivers2 Chris Chivers will be known to many in education and on Twitter
The problem isn’t the framework, it’s high-stakes accountability
Ros McMullen gives ‘a big thumbs-up’ to the emphasis on curriculum – although, she says, she struggles with how inspectors will judge its impact I have a confession – I really like Amanda Spielman, our HMCI, and I really like
Sustaining Resilience for Leadership
I began reading this book in the Christmas break, having just finished my first term as a headteacher. It helped to energise me and make me ready to lead again, come January. Workload and wellbeing are hot topics in education
Schools shut out from DfE music curriculum panel
The government has come under fire for choosing just three serving school leaders for its 14-strong panel that will develop its new “model” music curriculum. Nick Gibb, the schools minister, announced the panel members on Friday, saying that they would
Ormiston Academies Trust got £1.1m government loan
One of the country’s largest multi-academy trusts was lent more than £1 million by the government to help “cash flow management” last year, the second such settlement it has negotiated to takeover struggling schools. Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 37
New ‘witness charter’ to protect teachers in misconduct hearings
The Teaching Regulation Agency has drawn up a “witness charter” to protect teachers who give evidence in misconduct hearings. The agency has produced “standards of care” for witnesses and beefed-up guidance for staff on how to engage and handle issues
How Ofsted is trying to tackle the culture of teaching to the test
Inspection should capture the things that no data measure can, says Amanda Spielman. ‘We need to look at how a school has achieved results, not just take them at face value’ I hope that most of you will have seen that
Ofsted and DfE staff nabbed for Brexit planning
Civil servants from Ofsted have been redeployed to help prepare for a no-deal Brexit, with more staff set to follow, Schools Week understands. It follows concerns that civil servants from the Department for Education could be transferred from as early as next
Six-figure settlement by academy trust angers union
A teaching union wants the government to investigate a possible waste of public funds after an academy trust paid a six-figure sum to settle a legal claim from another chain. Newly published accounts for the Nova Education Trust, which runs