St. John Boste Catholic Primary School earns glowing ‘Outstanding’ rating in recent Ofsted victory

Great news for staff and pupils at St John Boste Catholic Primary School!  The school, based in Oxclose, Washington, recently received an ‘outstanding’ grade in their latest Ofsted inspection, which is always delightful to hear of a North East school.  We know that all of our schools are outstanding, but when it’s awarded as such …

NNoSS Conference2024: The latest conversations around SEND

Yesterday marked the fourth annual conference for the National Network of Special Schools  (NNoSS) for School Business Professionals. Powered by Schools North East, NNoSS is a collaborative network of School Business Professionals. Through collaborative initiatives, the NNoSS community strives to ensure their settings are well resourced for each unique learner. Together they’re a loud and …

Sunderland Head Teacher soars to national spotlight as awards finalist!

Huge, huge congratulations to the North East’s very own Robert Bell, who has been named as a finalist in the prestigious Pearson National Teaching Awards. We’re delighted for both Robert and Evolve, the alternative provision school in Sunderland in which he’s the Head Teacher of.  Reaching the finals means national recognition for his groundbreaking work …

Empowered young philanthropists: Local students go above and beyond to give back!

They say that the true measure of our success is not in what we accumulate, but in what we give back… and students at St Joseph’s Catholic Academy understand this thoroughly!  Pupils at the Hebburn school, which is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, chose not to give up on chocolate or other sweet …

Early boost, lasting benefits: How Sure Start helped children thrive

Imagine having a bunch of evidence-based programmes and practical resources, all in one place, to improve the lives of parents while ensuring that the lives of the most deprived little ones under five got off to the best possible start? That's what the Sure Start programme was all about, but while it sounds great on …

Lights, Camera, Action! North East welcomes back award-winning cameraman

What would you say is one of the greatest historical scenes in 21st  century cinema? For us, it has to be the famous five-minute-long, single-take Dunkirk scene on Redcar beach for the 2007 film Atonement. That was epic and deserves continued recognition! Plus, perhaps unbeknownst to you, the cameraman behind this iconic masterpiece is originally …

How West Denton Primary School boosted pupil health and wellbeing

Schools North East partnered with the Community Foundation to make a staggering £100,000 of funding available for schools wishing to develop their cultural, sporting or careers provision for disadvantaged and looked-after children. Funding of up to £4,000 was available per bid for schools across Tyne and Wear. This project meant so much to us all …

SEND: What’s the latest situation around funding?

When it comes to working in special and hospital schools, and alternative provisions, no two days are the same.  Things are constantly developing and evolving (not always for the best), which is why Schools North East, through our partner NNoSS (National Network of Special Schools), always ensures the lines of communication are open wide with …

Gateshead whiz kids get set to take robots to World Finals in Texas!

A group of talented Gateshead pupils are preparing to battle bots across the pond after winning a national STEM competition. Wow! Just wow! Huge congratulations to everybody involved. This is the perfect opportunity to show the rest of the world what the North East of England is made of… The five pupils from Wardley Primary, …

Government boosts special needs places by 60,000 (finally!)

Hurray! Our voices have been heard! In a press release published on Tuesday 26 March, the government announced that it's investing a record amount of money (£850 million, to be exact) to create over 60,000 new school places for students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This means more children and young people will …