Category Archives: Academies

English academy chain to improve conditions for Jamaican teachers after strike threat

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Union leader describes chain’s record on overseas-trained teachers as ‘Harris Federation’s Windrush’

The National Education Union has claimed a “resounding improvement” in workload and conditions for teachers from Jamaica and other countries at a leading academy chain, as part of a deal ending threats of strike action.

The Harris Federation of schools confirmed it will improve conditions for qualified teachers from Jamaica and others trained overseas, as part of a deal that eases the route for overseas-trained teachers to gain similar qualifications in England.

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Children’s development ‘put back by years’ due to failure of special educational needs system

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Local government ombudsman report into SEND in England offers damning assessment

England’s special education system is failing, causing thousands of children to have their development put back by months or even years, according to a damning report by the local government ombudsman.

Amerdeep Somal, the local government and social care ombudsman, said her caseload was now dominated by complaints from families involving special educational needs (Sen) provision and schools, with more than 90% of complaints being upheld.

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Fifty English secondary schools suspended more than a quarter of pupils after pandemic

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Exclusive: Children in disadvantaged areas three times as likely to be sent away as pupils in wealthier places

Fifty secondary schools in England suspended more than a quarter of their students after the pandemic, with children at schools with the most disadvantaged pupils three times as likely to be suspended as those in wealthier areas, according to analysis by the Guardian.

The proportion of schools suspending large numbers of pupils has risen sharply since schools were closed to many children during Covid, and teachers have struggled with deteriorating behaviour since they reopened.

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Exclusive: 90% of UK schools will run out of money next year, heads warn

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Heads say they will be in deficit next academic year, even without cuts Jeremy Hunt is planning

Nine out of 10 schools will have run out of money by the next school year as the enormous burden of increased energy and salary bills takes its toll, the Observer can reveal.

Early data from the National Association of Head Teachers – results of a survey of its members are due later this month – shows that 50% of heads say their school will be in deficit this year, with almost all expecting to be in the red by next September,when their reserve run out. This comes as Jeremy Hunt has made clear that all departments, including education, will be expected to make cuts as part of the government’s debt reduction plan, to be announced on 31 October.

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Teachers at ex-Tory minister’s academy chain set to strike

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Staff at Future Academies claim they are being overworked and children have been left demoralised

Teachers at an academy chain founded by the former Conservative schools minister John Nash and his wife are preparing to go on strike, claiming the trust is “blighting the life chances of the children”.

The curriculum used by Future Academies, developed by Caroline Nash, a stockbroker, is said in a letter to governors of one the chain’s schools to be among the most narrow in the country.

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Nadhim Zahawi makes U-turn on schools bill after criticism

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Minister scraps plans to increase DfE control of academy trusts, derided as ‘ridiculous attempt to centralise power in Whitehall’

Ministers have announced a U-turn on key elements of the government’s schools bill, scrapping or amending clauses that would have given the Department for Education (DfE) greater control over “virtually every aspect” of academy trusts in England.

The schools bill, launched by Nadhim Zahawi, has run into opposition from Conservative and crossbench peers for giving the education secretary a veto over appointments of school trustees, the power to rescind funding agreements and even determine the length of the school day within each trust.

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