Labour lays down their education initiatives at Brighton Conference

This week the Labour Party held their annual conference in Brighton. Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner set out her vision of education from a Labour perspective and took the Conservative government to task on their education record to date. Here we summarise the key points of her speech: At the heart of the speech was …

Vision for Education Launches ‘Attendance Hero’ Campaign

Vision for Education passionately believes in giving back, and over the past 12 months they have invested £180,000 back into schools – something they are very proud of.  As such, they will be continuing with and expanding their ‘Attendance Hero’ incentive. This can be very much tailored to a schools priorities and current processes, but …

Agnew Replaces Lord Nash as New Academies Minister

Following the departure of Lord Nash this week, Sir Theodore Agnew, the founder of the Inspiration Trust, has been announced as the new Minister for Academies. It was speculated that Agnew would be Lord Nash's successor, however it has now been confirmed by the Prime Minister's Office that he will take the coveted position. According …

Schools should not be afraid to promote British Values, says Ofsted Head

The Head of Ofsted has said that schools should not be afraid to promote British Values, regardless of the fact that some children are being brought up in environments that are 'actively hostile' to them. According to Amanda Spielman, the education system is paramount in promoting and upholding the principles that make Britain a "beacon …

Ofsted’s North East Report: A Snapshot

The Event: Keeping up to date with short inspections, governance and SEND outcomes Quality Hotel Boldon, Monday 25th September 2017 ‘The one constant in your life is change’ – those were the words of Cathy Kirby, Regional Director of Ofsted for the North East, Yorkshire and Humber at the SCHOOLS NorthEast Ofsted event this week …

DfE’s Chief Scientific Adviser Leaves to Work with Gove

It has been announced this week that Tim Leunig, Chief Science Adviser for the DfE, is leaving the department to work for Michael Gove's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Leunig, a professor of economic history at the London School of Economics, had worked on the now-abandoned proposals to open new grammar schools and …

Sharing lessons from North East career benchmarks pilot with Spain

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) region is the first in the country to pilot the eight National Career Benchmarks identified by Sir John Holman and the Gatsby Foundation. Sixteen schools and colleges in the NELEP area took part in the pilot, which comprises two years of intensive careers activity with schools, colleges and …

Proportion of students taking arts subjects falls to lowest in decade

New figures suggest that the number of 15-16 year olds studying arts subjects in England, such as drama and music, has fallen to the lowest level in a decade as a result of government policies. The Education Policy Institute reports that reforms have driven students to take more traditional subjects such as geography and history …

BBC Learning Launch Mental Health Video Campaign

A set of free videos introducing the issue of mental health to primary school has been released by BBC Learning. The series, entitled “When I worry about things” animates the voices of children talking about their own struggles and experiences. It looks at ways to help children deal with a range of mental health issues …

New Ofsted system would see schools graded ‘good-ish’, headteachers warn

Head Teachers have warned that the proposed new one-day Ofsted school inspections could see schools graded as ‘good-ish’ and confuse parents as to what this means. The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) criticised the new system proposed by Ofsted, that could see schools which have fallen below a previous "good" rating to escape full inspection …