Frequent changes to education policy are school governors’ biggest challenge

Keeping up with the numerous education policy changes and effective time management are the main issues school governors are faced with,  according to delegates at the first SCHOOLS NorthEast Regional Governance Conference . Over 300 school governors in the region attended the Regional Governance Conference today, coming together under one roof to hear from sector …

Competition or Collaboration – The Perfect Dichotomy

Outside of education you’d think that schools would be open to sharing practice, helping each other and identifying what works best for the young people of our country. We are all working to a common goal of better equipping the young people in our care, giving them the very best life opportunities possible, irrespective of …

North East schools receive KS2 congratulatory letters

Congratulations to all schools in the region that have received a ministerial congratulatory letter for their 2016 Key Stage 2 results! The full national list is available here. Darlington: Heighington Church of England Primary School – Top 10% progress Red Hall Primary School – 100% in maths St Teresa’s RC Primary School – Top 10% …

Schools face national behaviour problem, new report suggests

In a recently published independent review, teacher and behaviour expert Tom Bennett said evidence suggested challenging behaviour in schools is a national problem. While there is no one solution to this widespread problem, the report recommends a number of approaches that can be used to deal with it, including a series of policy recommendations for both the …

Mental health service for schools in Newcastle discontinued

Newcastle City Council will discontinue the Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS) programme starting next month, due to lack of funding. 67 schools who participated in the programme will cease to receive the hour a week of funded counselling and will no longer have access to a subsidised rate for any additional time purchased. Newcastle City …

New literacy campaign launched in the North East

A new campaign to boost children’s literacy levels in the North East has been launched by the North East Literacy Forum, led by the National Literacy Trust and supported by publisher Penguin Random House UK, the Education Endowment Foundation and Greggs PLC. The Read North East campaign will focus on early years literacy, encouraging parents …

Ofsted Head live on BBC Newcastle

On Thursday April 6th, Cathy Kirby, the Ofsted Regional Director for the North East, Yorkshire and Humber will be taking questions live on BBC Newcastle’s breakfast show, between 9am and 10am. The show’s producers are keen to hear from parents, teachers, and Head Teachers in advance. Please email ruth.holliday@bbc.co.uk to get in touch.

Northern Education Trust responds to latest Ofsted judgement

Earlier this week, Ofsted published their judgement after inspecting the Northern Education Trust. The Trust's response to this can be read in full below: The Trust welcomed the request made by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector to carry out a focused review of nine of twenty of our academies in November 2016. We are pleased that …

SCHOOLS NorthEast responds to stage 2 of the NFF consultation

In December 2016, the Department for Education announced it was seeking views on the detailed design of the schools national funding formula, as part of the second stage of its consultation. SCHOOLS NorthEast has submitted a response on behalf of schools in our region. Changes to the funding structure will have an impact on all …

North East schools forced to ask parents to help fill funding blackhole

The Head Teachers of two schools in the region have written to parents with a plea for donations, as both schools face losing hundreds of thousands of pounds in the next few years. Dozens of school leaders in Darlington also reached out to parents, urging them to lobby the Government over the funding crisis by …