❗️Exclusive: Radical plans for ministers to scrape real-time data from schools to shape policy moves are in danger of being 'screwed up' by tight deadlines and security gaffes, experts have warned schoolsweek.co.uk/security-woe...

Security woes risk Labour's huge data push, ministers told

Little-known 'data spine' project will see real-time information fed straight to government

schoolsweek.co.uk

⚽ One in six secondary pupils didn’t turn up for school this morning after England faced Mexico for a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals overnight schoolsweek.co.uk/school-absen...

Schools absence rises after early morning England win

Three Lions boss Tuchel told parents to let their kids stay up for Mexico tie and 'write an excuse for school'

schoolsweek.co.uk

🔙 Long-time civil servant Warwick Sharp is back where he wanted to be. We meet the new chief executive of GLF Schools... schoolsweek.co.uk/warwick-shar...

Warwick Sharp, CEO, GLF Schools

Long-time civil servant Warwick Sharp is back where he wanted to be. We meet the new CEO of GLF Schools

schoolsweek.co.uk

Hats off to @johndickens.bsky.social @fcdwhittaker.bsky.social @jackydys.bsky.social and others digging in depth over the years when rest of the media herd moved on after early scandals a decade ago. Proper journalism takes proper resourcing - but can pay off. Subscribe to @schoolsweek.bsky.social!

📝 Twelve building companies are being investigated by the UK competition watchdog over suspected 'bid-rigging' on contracts for school repairs https://schoolsweek.co.uk/12-firms-investigated-over-suspected-school-repairs-bid-rigging/

12 firms investigated over suspected repairs ‘bid-rigging’

Competition watchdog offers first indication of the scale of its investigation into CIF applications

schoolsweek.co.uk

🆕 Teachers at the centre of baseless misconduct probes will no longer have their details kept on file and 'hanging over' their working lives for decades https://schoolsweek.co.uk/details-of-baseless-misconduct-probes-to-be-destroyed-sooner/

Details of baseless misconduct probes to be destroyed sooner

TRA information held for 50 years will now be erased after five following NAHT pressure

schoolsweek.co.uk

❗Exclusive: Almost a fifth of children missed lessons this week as temperatures soared to record highs – with attendance rates plummeting even further in some areas schoolsweek.co.uk/revealed-att...

Revealed: Attendance rates plummet as temperature soars

18 per cent of children missed classes this week, as closures hit nearly 40 per cent of schools in one area

schoolsweek.co.uk

💸 Exclusive: Twenty-five struggling schools in a London borough racked up over £5 million in overdraft bills, it has emerged schoolsweek.co.uk/struggling-s...

Struggling schools racked up £5m bank bill amid finance woes

Experts warn of ‘worrying’ pressures as Barnet council says 25 schools owed over £200k on average

schoolsweek.co.uk

💸 Exclusive: School leaders are warning of more cuts if ministers do not provide urgent help to cover surging energy bills caused by Donald Trump’s war with Iran https://schoolsweek.co.uk/more-cuts-coming-as-energy-bills-soar-leaders-warn/

More cuts coming as energy bills soar, leaders warn

Academy trust issued government improvement notice as it struggled with gas and electric costs

schoolsweek.co.uk

🆕 The academy trust in the largest financial hole in England has named its new chief executive, days after the resignation of its last boss https://schoolsweek.co.uk/struggling-academy-trust-with-9m-deficit-names-new-ceo/

Struggling MAT with £9m deficit names new CEO

Under-pressure Catholic trust appoints Lisa Walton to top job, days after the departure of its previous chief

schoolsweek.co.uk

📅 Schools will be 'expected' to secure management information system (MIS) suppliers through a new government framework from next year schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-expe...

Schools 'expected' to use government route to buy MIS

New framework should be used by all schools to purchase MIS from next year in bid to reduce 'legal risk'

schoolsweek.co.uk

❌ A north east trust snubbed cash for repairs three years in a row was told its latest bids would have stood a better chance if its academies had shut https://schoolsweek.co.uk/snubbed-schools-more-likely-to-get-repairs-cash-if-they-shut/

Schools in the north east miss out on CIF funds for repairs

North east school again refused CIF funding as region receives just 1% of the £457m grant

schoolsweek.co.uk

📉 Almost half of ailing academy trusts censured by ministers after registering losses of up to several million pounds have continued their financial slide Read our investigation in full ⬇️ schoolsweek.co.uk/censured-aca...

Censured academy trusts continue to slide into the red

One has an over £9m deficit two years after receiving a notice to improve, as leaders predict more on the way

schoolsweek.co.uk

We obtained documents that show councils planned to create chains of up to 25 schools and cash in on trust 'economies of scale' the last time the policy was pursued They offer a glimpse of what could be in store when ministers roll out plans for councils to launch their own MATs later this year...

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Investigation: Cash-starved councils lack the manpower or even enough available schools to launch their own multi-academy trusts, ministers have been warned Full story 🔽 https://schoolsweek.co.uk/can-council-run-academy-trusts-actually-work/

🤔 Rule changes made after the requirement for all new schools to be academies was binned don’t make sense, trust leaders have said schoolsweek.co.uk/new-school-p...

New school plans must show they will move into MATs

Binning of free school presumption branded 'unnecessary' as new LA schools will still have to academise

schoolsweek.co.uk

This is the latest update to a story we've been tracking from the start We revealed last year how the trust had racked up seven-figure losses after purchasing iPads as part of an initiative to provide 11,000 devices to all pupils and staff schoolsweek.co.uk/big-academy-...

Big trust given £1.5m government loan to stay afloat

A 24-school trust racked up a seven-figure deficit after surging costs, and buying iPads for staff and pupils

schoolsweek.co.uk

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🆕 A troubled academy trust saddled with an over £8 million deficit is set to be carved up in one of the largest-ever MAT closures https://schoolsweek.co.uk/troubled-trust-with-8m-deficit-to-be-broken-up/

A 13-school trust has been issued an improvement notice over safeguarding failings after a pupil was murdered at one of its academies https://schoolsweek.co.uk/trust-issued-with-improvement-notice-after-pupil-stabbed-to-death/

Trust issued improvement notice after pupil stabbed to death

Sheffield MAT 'failed to comply with the safeguarding measures', DfE says

schoolsweek.co.uk

Last week, we took an in-depth look at the government's 'missions' to boost outcomes in the north east and on the coast But as questions continue to hang over central elements of the scheme, ministers have been warned the flagship policy risks 'sounding bold but changing nothing'...

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A flagship policy to turn around outcomes in left-behind areas risks 'sounding bold but changing nothing', ministers have been warned as they reveal the 'mission coastal' towns https://schoolsweek.co.uk/missions-impossible-the-flagship-policy-due-in-september/

🔎 It was on Valentine’s Day in 2022 that a routine inspection found the school could collapse 🧱 But four years on, it has a new state-of-the-art home – the first to be rebuilt following the RAAC crisis schoolsweek.co.uk/the-valentin...

The four-year journey of the first RAAC school rebuild

A primary forced to close in February 2022 is now the first with the crumbly concrete to be fully rebuilt

schoolsweek.co.uk

Verdicts for 18 teachers over the past 12 months have been changed following teacher misconduct hearings, data obtained by Schools Week shows The figure is a record high and double the number of the previous year Full story ⬇️

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 3mo ago

ICYMI: Bridget Phillipson has quietly overruled the proposed punishment in almost one in 12 recent teacher misconduct cases, prompting warnings that public trust in the process could be undermined https://schoolsweek.co.uk/phillipson-overturns-1-in-12-verdicts-in-teacher-misconduct-cases/

🆕 Ministers’ efforts to boost outcomes in left-behind seaside towns will be focused on Scarborough and Hastings https://schoolsweek.co.uk/focus-of-labours-coastal-mission-revealed/

Focus of Labour's coastal 'mission' revealed

Government fleshes out visions to end outcomes 'postcode lottery' in north east and on coast

schoolsweek.co.uk

As heads head to Belfast for @naht.org.uk conf where funding will be a big discussion point, this piece from @jackydys.bsky.social is essential reading While some trust finances are improving, the fortunes of many of those already in trouble are getting worse schoolsweek.co.uk/a-tale-of-tw...

More academy trusts £1m+ in the red, but others improve

'The mixed picture on deficits reflects the mixed financial situations of schools and trusts'

schoolsweek.co.uk

Government officials had asked the church to pilot the inspections over three years, with six trusts assessed every 12 months But concerns had been raised that this could be 'another administrative burden on trusts that’s not applied to others'...

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Exclusive: The Church of England has shelved a consultation on plans to launch its own multi-academy trust inspections, just days after first unveiling the proposals https://schoolsweek.co.uk/church-of-england-shelves-consultation-on-multi-academy-trust-inspections/

💸 Exclusive: The number of trusts over £1 million in the red has almost doubled in a year as leaders warn it is 'tougher than ever' to keep pace with increased costs schoolsweek.co.uk/a-tale-of-tw...

More academy trusts £1m+ in the red, but others improve

'The mixed picture on deficits reflects the mixed financial situations of schools and trusts'

schoolsweek.co.uk

📝 School adjudicators are prolific. Most days the team of part-time experts publishes rulings on the latest admissions rows Here, one former chief adjudicator sheds light on the body’s inner workings and has her say on Labour’s shake-up of the school system 🔽 schoolsweek.co.uk/shan-scott-f...

Shan Scott, former chief schools adjudicator

The retired admissions chief has her say on Labour’s shake-up of the school system

schoolsweek.co.uk

Almost 4 in 10 leaders expect their school will make cuts to SEND support next year, sparking concerns over a 'worrying gap' between government reform ambitions and frontline realities https://schoolsweek.co.uk/almost-four-in-10-leaders-expect-school-to-cut-send-support-next-year/

Almost 4 in 10 leaders expect school to cut SEND support

Unions say findings show the 'worrying gap' between ministers' SEND hopes and the realities facing schools

schoolsweek.co.uk

In accounts, the trust said it felt 'some time ago that holding high levels of reserves was inappropriate' as it 'still had much school improvement to do' This helped all its schools secure ‘good’ or better Ofsted judgments - but also 'depleted' reserves Read our story ⬇️

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 4mo ago

📉 The bosses of a cash-strapped academy trust have blamed its £3.4 million deficit on a strategy that considered hoarding reserves 'inappropriate' and saw them plough resources into securing ‘good’ Ofsteds schoolsweek.co.uk/ailing-trust...

👀 Our investigation – which analysed almost 1,100 trusts – also found 90 per cent of those above the £200,000 threshold were given rises and that six trust chiefs were paid more than £300,000 last year 💷 Only a quarter of the top earners were women

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 4mo ago

💸 Investigation: Almost 100 academy trust bosses are paid eye-watering salaries of over £200,000, prompting calls for an NHS-style executive pay framework Read our annual CEO pay audit in full 🔽 schoolsweek.co.uk/academy-boss...

❗More schools face axing staff or closure amid falling rolls, ministers have been warned, after a nationwide trust announced that redundancies are on the way across many of its academies https://schoolsweek.co.uk/more-difficult-decisions-ahead-due-to-falling-rolls/

More 'difficult decisions' ahead due to falling rolls

Politicians urged not to turn budget cuts into a political football

schoolsweek.co.uk

📝 An academy trust broke rules after using a confidentiality clause while cutting ties with an employee 🔢 This is the first known case of a trust falling foul of the new rules https://schoolsweek.co.uk/first-academy-trust-rapped-for-confidentiality-clause/

First academy trust rapped for confidentiality clause

New rules state such clauses 'must not be used unless the trust has received prior DfE approval'

schoolsweek.co.uk