The National Network of Special Schools for School Business Professionals host their first in-person Conference

Over 120 School Business Professionals from special, hospital and alternative provision settings came to Nottingham to attend the first in-person National Network of Special Schools for School Business Professionals (NNoSS) Conference. In her opening remarks Pauline Aitchison, Deputy Director of Schools North East and Chair of NNoSS welcomed the delegates saying “We’re delighted to be …

Statistics show declining School Leader retention

The Department for Education (DfE) has released statistics this week which show that there has been a significant increase in the number of Senior Leaders leaving their posts over the last five years. The statistics shared by NAHT following an FOI request to the DfE show that 25% of primary school Head Teachers and 37% …

Ofsted releases new 5 year strategy

The document, which was released this week, outlining their eight priorities and four key values, was criticised by a number of teaching unions including ASCL, who stated that “It’s a shame that Ofsted doesn’t appear to recognise that the inspection system needs to be reformed.”  The key priorities are: to raise inspection standards; keep children …

National recognition for two young writers

Two students from King James I Academy in Bishop Auckland have had their work recognised in a national competition. The work came from the school creative writing group, run by English Teacher Stacey Gowland. The group gives students the opportunity to develop their creative writing skills as well as collaborating with other aspiring writers in …

Pandemic is not over for North East Schools amidst latest attendance figures

The Department for Education released a summary of student attendance figures this week, showing a drop in all state-funded schools attendance. While 89.7% of student attendance was recorded on 17th March, it subsequently dropped to 88.6% on 31st March, simultaneously demonstrating that - in spite of the narrative around the pandemic - Covid is not …

Westfield School plants a tree for the Jubilee

Westfield School welcomed two Deputy Lieutenants from the Tyne and Wear Lieutenancy this week to ‘Plant a tree for the Jubilee’. Headmaster Neil Walker was delighted to welcome Lucy Winskell and Ed McNaught, Deputy Lieutenants for Tyne and Wear, at a tree planting ceremony in support of Her Majesty The Queen’s Green Canopy Jubilee initiative. …

Fairtrade award success for local primary school

A primary school in South East Northumberland has taken its first steps towards becoming a certified ‘Eco School’ after receiving the FairAware Award from the Fairtrade Foundation. James Knott C of E Primary School in Ashington, which operates as part of Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, achieved the award in recognition of the efforts …

School leader unions call for government action over Covid disruption

ASCL and NAHT wrote to the Secretary of State for Education this week, about the ongoing impact of Covid-related disruption. The letter highlighted statistics earlier in March which showed that Covid-related pupil absence on 17th March was 2.5% (up from 0.7% the previous fortnight), and teacher and leader absence was 9.1% (up from 5.8%). Attendance …

SEND review sets out proposals for a national SEND and alternative provision system

The long awaited SEND review green paper was released this week. The SEND review sets out the government’s proposals for a system that ‘offers children and young people the opportunity to thrive, with access to the right support, in the right place, and at the right time, so they can fulfil their potential and lead …

National Tutoring Programme data highlights need for flexible support

The DfE released in-depth data this week on the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), with breakdowns by type of NTP delivery and by region. Previously, DfE had only released ad-hoc statistics.  In the 2020 to 2021 academic year, NTP delivered support schools via two routes: tuition partners and academic mentors. In the 2021 to 2022 academic …