Set up by schools for schools, we are the first and only school-led regional network in the UK.
Newcastle City councillors have passed a strongly worded motion attacking the Government’s free schools agenda and the leadership of the Discovery School. Councillors called the Discovery School an ‘unmitigated tragedy’ that has ‘ruined’ children’s life opportunities. The motion came after a damning Ofsted report showed the extent of the problems at the school, which will …
Continue reading Discovery School closure – Newcastle council motion criticises free schools agenda
There has been a significant fall in the number of registered childminders in England, figures from Ofsted show. New data shows there are now nearly 16,000 fewer registered childminders than around six years ago. Overall, there were 41,700 registered with the watchdog, Ofsted, at the end of March - down by 27% (15,700) since the …
Schools across the region have raised concerns about a number of questions in this year's examinations that have either marginalised certain groups of students or create potential safeguarding issues. One such example was flagged by a local school Head who was concerned that pupils sitting the AQA GCSE Geography exam this year were asked to explain …
Continue reading Questionable questions in this year’s exams – SCHOOLS NorthEast call for evidence
Plans have been floated for four-years-old to be assessed on whether they have tantrums “most days”, can sit still and are able to wait their turn. A proposed “tantrum test” would also look at whether children starting school can join in games and whether they have lots of friends, as part of a national assessment …
New sponsor-led academies will carry their previous Ofsted grading even after conversion until they are inspected, in a change to current practice. Ofsted published guidance on changes to the methodology it uses in reporting school inspection grades. Previously, Ofsted’s datasets showed no data for some schools which had converted to academy status and had not yet …
Continue reading Previous Ofsted rulings on schools to now stand, even after academisation
Children from poorer backgrounds in England are increasingly likely to miss out on learning a foreign language, suggests a report. Some teachers blame new tougher GCSEs for putting lower ability pupils off language learning. There is also a perception that languages are less important since the vote to leave the European Union, says the British …
Continue reading Language lesson gap means poorest miss out, says report
Secretary of State for Education Damian Hinds was questioned by the Education Select Committee this week on a range of issues including funding, MAT accountability and the Careers and Enterprise Company. We take a look at what he had to say on these three areas: We don’t know how much funding the DfE is looking for …
Continue reading Damian Hinds quizzed by Select Committee on funding
The North East has seen the biggest decline in the number of teachers in the country, according to the latest DfE School Workforce Census data. The figures, which refer to the 12 months from November 2016 to November 2017, show a 2.2% drop in the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) teachers in the region. All …
Continue reading North East sees biggest fall in teacher numbers, DfE data reveals
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/meet-teacher-who-gone-extra-14832753 - Chronicle Live, Meet the teacher who has gone the extra mile for schoolgirl who is losing her sight. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/gateshead-council-gibside-school-shipcote-14804087 - Chronicle Live, Gateshead special school to get multi-million pound move amid skyrocketing demand for places. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/phones-ban-schools-pupils-classrooms-14805358 - Chronicle Live, Mobile phones should be banned from school classrooms, says Culture Secretary. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/predatory-pupils-riotous-behaviour-damning-14786530 - Chronicle …
The culture secretary has called on more schools to ban mobile phones. Matt Hancock said he admired those headteachers who did not allow their use during the school day and linked social media use with the problem of bullying among young children Speaking at the Festival of Education in Wellington yesterday Ofsted's Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman …
The Schools North East Blog 