Pinned
Edition 410 done and dusted
Scoop: Ofsted consultation analysis row takes a new turn 👀
Solutions: teacher interns?
Investigation: thousands of teachers potentially due better pension die before outcome
Rise in pupils educated at home causes exams centre blockage
Scoop: Ofsted consultation analysis row takes a new turn 👀
Solutions: teacher interns?
Investigation: thousands of teachers potentially due better pension die before outcome
Rise in pupils educated at home causes exams centre blockage
Edition 412 done and dusted
We lead on the £20bn SEND time bomb from this week’s budget bedlam
Inside the country’s biggest academy rebroker
The trust asking pupils for engagement solutions
No more leadership heroes
What Ofsted grade reform means for flagship scheme entry
We lead on the £20bn SEND time bomb from this week’s budget bedlam
Inside the country’s biggest academy rebroker
The trust asking pupils for engagement solutions
No more leadership heroes
What Ofsted grade reform means for flagship scheme entry
November 27, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Edition 412 done and dusted
We lead on the £20bn SEND time bomb from this week’s budget bedlam
Inside the country’s biggest academy rebroker
The trust asking pupils for engagement solutions
No more leadership heroes
What Ofsted grade reform means for flagship scheme entry
We lead on the £20bn SEND time bomb from this week’s budget bedlam
Inside the country’s biggest academy rebroker
The trust asking pupils for engagement solutions
No more leadership heroes
What Ofsted grade reform means for flagship scheme entry
What a mess
Bournemouth council faces £183m SEND deficit, and £10m in interest costs to finance the debt .... paid from its general fund (made up of council tax, business rates etc)
It wants to use high needs cash to pay the debt instead, which would hit schools
schoolsweek.co.uk/council-faci...
Bournemouth council faces £183m SEND deficit, and £10m in interest costs to finance the debt .... paid from its general fund (made up of council tax, business rates etc)
It wants to use high needs cash to pay the debt instead, which would hit schools
schoolsweek.co.uk/council-faci...
Council facing £183m SEND deficit warns of ‘devastating consequences’
A cash-strapped council facing a £183 million SEND black hole is warning ministers the deficit is “forcing” them to make “impossible financial decisions” with "devastating consequences”, ahead of tomo...
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 5:35 PM
What a mess
Bournemouth council faces £183m SEND deficit, and £10m in interest costs to finance the debt .... paid from its general fund (made up of council tax, business rates etc)
It wants to use high needs cash to pay the debt instead, which would hit schools
schoolsweek.co.uk/council-faci...
Bournemouth council faces £183m SEND deficit, and £10m in interest costs to finance the debt .... paid from its general fund (made up of council tax, business rates etc)
It wants to use high needs cash to pay the debt instead, which would hit schools
schoolsweek.co.uk/council-faci...
If anyone wants to do a review of the feature for us then do get in touch with me!
(All reviews are done with a critical eye - no free PR)
(All reviews are done with a critical eye - no free PR)
ChatGPT for teachers has launched. A landing page has a series of suggested tasks such as curriculum planning, reviewing work with a rubric. I'd like to see a robust study on the the following:
chatgpt.com/use-cases/hi...
chatgpt.com/use-cases/hi...
ChatGPT for high school teachers
Teachers from across the U.S. shared chats they use for lesson planning, research, and administrative tasks.
Tap a chat to get started.
chatgpt.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:42 AM
If anyone wants to do a review of the feature for us then do get in touch with me!
(All reviews are done with a critical eye - no free PR)
(All reviews are done with a critical eye - no free PR)
England should have set 300-plus there. Really disappointing batting
Oz huge favourites now, bowlers going to have to be perfect again for England to win
Oz huge favourites now, bowlers going to have to be perfect again for England to win
Ah man 🫣 🏏
November 22, 2025 at 7:06 AM
England should have set 300-plus there. Really disappointing batting
Oz huge favourites now, bowlers going to have to be perfect again for England to win
Oz huge favourites now, bowlers going to have to be perfect again for England to win
Reposted by John Dickens
Such an interesting article by Cathie Paine from @reach2trust.bsky.social Great for the sector to hear from larger trusts on the realities of how they make and manage change.
REAch2 set out to resolve funding inequity across its schools by pooling its funding. The trust had to pause the plans – but here’s what they learnt (and why they are still doing it)
schoolsweek.co.uk/our-gag-pool...
schoolsweek.co.uk/our-gag-pool...
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Such an interesting article by Cathie Paine from @reach2trust.bsky.social Great for the sector to hear from larger trusts on the realities of how they make and manage change.
Well that was a good decision. What a start to the series
Woke up a bit earlier and been watching from the fourth over 😭
November 21, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Well that was a good decision. What a start to the series
Decamped to the living room for second session. Feels very optimistic but there we go
Also, not sure what’s worse: England’s wafty top order or these atrocious weight transfer graphic things
Also, not sure what’s worse: England’s wafty top order or these atrocious weight transfer graphic things
Woke up a bit earlier and been watching from the fourth over 😭
November 21, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Decamped to the living room for second session. Feels very optimistic but there we go
Also, not sure what’s worse: England’s wafty top order or these atrocious weight transfer graphic things
Also, not sure what’s worse: England’s wafty top order or these atrocious weight transfer graphic things
!!!
Big story in the country's biggest schools PFI deal, which ended last month
The PFI firm is going into liquidation, with millions of pounds worth of school repairs still outstanding
schoolsweek.co.uk/pfi-firm-in-...
Big story in the country's biggest schools PFI deal, which ended last month
The PFI firm is going into liquidation, with millions of pounds worth of school repairs still outstanding
schoolsweek.co.uk/pfi-firm-in-...
School PFI firm 'to liquidate' amid row over unfinished work
The firm overseeing England’s biggest school PFI contract is reportedly going into liquidation, with millions of pounds of building repairs work outstanding
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:26 PM
!!!
Big story in the country's biggest schools PFI deal, which ended last month
The PFI firm is going into liquidation, with millions of pounds worth of school repairs still outstanding
schoolsweek.co.uk/pfi-firm-in-...
Big story in the country's biggest schools PFI deal, which ended last month
The PFI firm is going into liquidation, with millions of pounds worth of school repairs still outstanding
schoolsweek.co.uk/pfi-firm-in-...
Edition 411 done and dusted:
Investigation: Councils don’t know how many home educated kids are under child protection enquiries
Scoop: PFI firm in multi-million pound schools repair row goes bust
Longread on new inspections
Plus: attendance awareness courses, GAG pooling, MAT mergers
Investigation: Councils don’t know how many home educated kids are under child protection enquiries
Scoop: PFI firm in multi-million pound schools repair row goes bust
Longread on new inspections
Plus: attendance awareness courses, GAG pooling, MAT mergers
November 20, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Edition 411 done and dusted:
Investigation: Councils don’t know how many home educated kids are under child protection enquiries
Scoop: PFI firm in multi-million pound schools repair row goes bust
Longread on new inspections
Plus: attendance awareness courses, GAG pooling, MAT mergers
Investigation: Councils don’t know how many home educated kids are under child protection enquiries
Scoop: PFI firm in multi-million pound schools repair row goes bust
Longread on new inspections
Plus: attendance awareness courses, GAG pooling, MAT mergers
We delved into this earlier this year
SENCos will be central to any government plan to make mainstream schools more inclusive. But are their roles even sustainable now?
Great investigation from @lydiach.bsky.social
schoolsweek.co.uk/burnt-out-an...
SENCos will be central to any government plan to make mainstream schools more inclusive. But are their roles even sustainable now?
Great investigation from @lydiach.bsky.social
schoolsweek.co.uk/burnt-out-an...
November 18, 2025 at 1:02 PM
We delved into this earlier this year
SENCos will be central to any government plan to make mainstream schools more inclusive. But are their roles even sustainable now?
Great investigation from @lydiach.bsky.social
schoolsweek.co.uk/burnt-out-an...
SENCos will be central to any government plan to make mainstream schools more inclusive. But are their roles even sustainable now?
Great investigation from @lydiach.bsky.social
schoolsweek.co.uk/burnt-out-an...
Those AI attendance reports have started well ...
❌ Exclusive: AI-driven reports that government said would help bring attendance 'back to – and beyond – pre-pandemic levels' have been suspended just days after they were launched
This comes after leaders noticed inaccuracies in the data provided...
schoolsweek.co.uk/embarrassing...
This comes after leaders noticed inaccuracies in the data provided...
schoolsweek.co.uk/embarrassing...
AI attendance reports suspended just days after launch
Government had said the reports would help bring attendance 'back to - and beyond - pre-pandemic levels'
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Those AI attendance reports have started well ...
Reposted by John Dickens
Thank you @schoolsweek.bsky.social for highlighting this - a really thorough and well researched article.
Exclusive: A surge in home education has left many families struggling to find places for their children to sit GCSEs, with some 'reduced to begging' as overwhelmed exam centres shut their doors
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/home-education-children-forced-to-travel-miles-to-sit-exams/
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/home-education-children-forced-to-travel-miles-to-sit-exams/
November 14, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Thank you @schoolsweek.bsky.social for highlighting this - a really thorough and well researched article.
Reposted by John Dickens
Some very worrying stats here. Serious questions for government and Capita about why it is taking so long to process remedy statements stemming from the McCloud judgment. Can’t imagine the anguish of already-retired teachers and leaders waiting for missing money
Exclusive: Thousands of retired teachers and leaders potentially entitled to better pensions following the landmark McCloud ruling have died before even receiving statements outlining what they could receive
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/thousands-of-retired-teachers-die-before-pensions-row-settled/
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/thousands-of-retired-teachers-die-before-pensions-row-settled/
November 14, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Some very worrying stats here. Serious questions for government and Capita about why it is taking so long to process remedy statements stemming from the McCloud judgment. Can’t imagine the anguish of already-retired teachers and leaders waiting for missing money
Edition 410 done and dusted
Scoop: Ofsted consultation analysis row takes a new turn 👀
Solutions: teacher interns?
Investigation: thousands of teachers potentially due better pension die before outcome
Rise in pupils educated at home causes exams centre blockage
Scoop: Ofsted consultation analysis row takes a new turn 👀
Solutions: teacher interns?
Investigation: thousands of teachers potentially due better pension die before outcome
Rise in pupils educated at home causes exams centre blockage
November 13, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Edition 410 done and dusted
Scoop: Ofsted consultation analysis row takes a new turn 👀
Solutions: teacher interns?
Investigation: thousands of teachers potentially due better pension die before outcome
Rise in pupils educated at home causes exams centre blockage
Scoop: Ofsted consultation analysis row takes a new turn 👀
Solutions: teacher interns?
Investigation: thousands of teachers potentially due better pension die before outcome
Rise in pupils educated at home causes exams centre blockage
🤖 Ministers will use AI to set minimum attendance targets for every school in England
Targets will not be published, or be given to Ofsted - but failure to improve will result in a referral to RISE teams
schoolsweek.co.uk/ai-to-set-mi...
Targets will not be published, or be given to Ofsted - but failure to improve will result in a referral to RISE teams
schoolsweek.co.uk/ai-to-set-mi...
Attendance: AI-generated targets to be set for all schools
AI-generated targets will be set for all schools in England, government has announced, as it looks to crackdown on absence rates.
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 7:03 AM
🤖 Ministers will use AI to set minimum attendance targets for every school in England
Targets will not be published, or be given to Ofsted - but failure to improve will result in a referral to RISE teams
schoolsweek.co.uk/ai-to-set-mi...
Targets will not be published, or be given to Ofsted - but failure to improve will result in a referral to RISE teams
schoolsweek.co.uk/ai-to-set-mi...
Great to see wider pick up of this big story on a state school opening a fee-pay paying school abroad
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Schools Week broke the story over a year ago: schoolsweek.co.uk/warning-over...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Schools Week broke the story over a year ago: schoolsweek.co.uk/warning-over...
Warning over grammar’s plan to open ‘affiliate’ schools overseas
A grammar school is looking to raise 'significant funds' by opening affiliate schools overseas, a market dominated by the independent sector
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Great to see wider pick up of this big story on a state school opening a fee-pay paying school abroad
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Schools Week broke the story over a year ago: schoolsweek.co.uk/warning-over...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Schools Week broke the story over a year ago: schoolsweek.co.uk/warning-over...
The latest government plan to help schools balance their budgets:
Provide support to help them get better returns on their collective £6bn of funding in reserves
schoolsweek.co.uk/savings-plat...
Provide support to help them get better returns on their collective £6bn of funding in reserves
schoolsweek.co.uk/savings-plat...
‘Savings platform’ plan to help schools boost reserves
Government thinks vision will ease school funding woes by 'unlocking' the sector's 'substantial reserves'
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 7:12 AM
The latest government plan to help schools balance their budgets:
Provide support to help them get better returns on their collective £6bn of funding in reserves
schoolsweek.co.uk/savings-plat...
Provide support to help them get better returns on their collective £6bn of funding in reserves
schoolsweek.co.uk/savings-plat...
The irony of this coming as government wonders why assistant head numbers have risen so much and suggests schools look at making savings in those teams ...
schoolsweek.co.uk/can-schools-...
schoolsweek.co.uk/can-schools-...
November 7, 2025 at 12:12 PM
The irony of this coming as government wonders why assistant head numbers have risen so much and suggests schools look at making savings in those teams ...
schoolsweek.co.uk/can-schools-...
schoolsweek.co.uk/can-schools-...
Interesting development - a lack of evidence of what works in SEND was a key finding from our investigation into the quality of EHCPs
schoolsweek.co.uk/investigatio...
schoolsweek.co.uk/investigatio...
November 7, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Interesting development - a lack of evidence of what works in SEND was a key finding from our investigation into the quality of EHCPs
schoolsweek.co.uk/investigatio...
schoolsweek.co.uk/investigatio...
Edition 409 done and dusted:
A curriculum and assessment review SPECIAL ...
PLUS:
Government plans £3m SEND research centre
Do schools really have too many assistant heads?
Ministers scope out plan to help schools boost investment returns
A curriculum and assessment review SPECIAL ...
PLUS:
Government plans £3m SEND research centre
Do schools really have too many assistant heads?
Ministers scope out plan to help schools boost investment returns
November 6, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Edition 409 done and dusted:
A curriculum and assessment review SPECIAL ...
PLUS:
Government plans £3m SEND research centre
Do schools really have too many assistant heads?
Ministers scope out plan to help schools boost investment returns
A curriculum and assessment review SPECIAL ...
PLUS:
Government plans £3m SEND research centre
Do schools really have too many assistant heads?
Ministers scope out plan to help schools boost investment returns
So heartening to see newish local journalism outlets doing proper reporting like this - fantastic investigation
This investigation from the @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social is absolutely staggering. It is very common in Sheffield (I live in this bit) to have a leasehold, often with hundreds of years left on and pennies in ground rent. This is extortion pure and simple. www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...
A London lawyer bought hundreds of Sheffield freeholds. Then the ‘very aggressive’ letters arrived
Exclusive: The Tribune can reveal that Andrew Milne has threatened leaseholders with high court action. It ‘broke my heart’ one woman says
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 5:53 PM
So heartening to see newish local journalism outlets doing proper reporting like this - fantastic investigation
Reposted by John Dickens
The new curriculum 'will be implemented in full, for first teaching from September 2028', the government has said
Now updated with a handy timeline...
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curriculum-to-be-introduced-in-2028-as-review-published/
Now updated with a handy timeline...
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curriculum-to-be-introduced-in-2028-as-review-published/
November 6, 2025 at 2:26 PM
The new curriculum 'will be implemented in full, for first teaching from September 2028', the government has said
Now updated with a handy timeline...
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curriculum-to-be-introduced-in-2028-as-review-published/
Now updated with a handy timeline...
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curriculum-to-be-introduced-in-2028-as-review-published/
Starting to get important answers and reaction to the curriculum review
Phillipson admits triple science pledge will need more specialist teachers:
schoolsweek.co.uk/triple-scien...
RE will be put on the national curriculum only if sector can ‘reach consensus’
schoolsweek.co.uk/ministers-wi...
Phillipson admits triple science pledge will need more specialist teachers:
schoolsweek.co.uk/triple-scien...
RE will be put on the national curriculum only if sector can ‘reach consensus’
schoolsweek.co.uk/ministers-wi...
Triple science pledge needs more specialist teachers - Phillipson
The education secretary has said more specialist science teachers will be needed if government is to make triple science available to all GCSE pupils
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Starting to get important answers and reaction to the curriculum review
Phillipson admits triple science pledge will need more specialist teachers:
schoolsweek.co.uk/triple-scien...
RE will be put on the national curriculum only if sector can ‘reach consensus’
schoolsweek.co.uk/ministers-wi...
Phillipson admits triple science pledge will need more specialist teachers:
schoolsweek.co.uk/triple-scien...
RE will be put on the national curriculum only if sector can ‘reach consensus’
schoolsweek.co.uk/ministers-wi...
Some more big curriculum news
Ministers ignore curriculum review's call for no progress 8 changes and set out proposals for big 'breadth' subject shake-up
Full story below
Ministers ignore curriculum review's call for no progress 8 changes and set out proposals for big 'breadth' subject shake-up
Full story below
Breaking: The government is proposing sweeping reforms to progress 8, the main league table measure for secondary schools, in a bid to boost arts take-up – and will ditch the EBacc from this academic year
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-ignores-francis-review-and-proposes-sweeping-progress-8-reform/
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-ignores-francis-review-and-proposes-sweeping-progress-8-reform/
November 5, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Some more big curriculum news
Ministers ignore curriculum review's call for no progress 8 changes and set out proposals for big 'breadth' subject shake-up
Full story below
Ministers ignore curriculum review's call for no progress 8 changes and set out proposals for big 'breadth' subject shake-up
Full story below