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Lydia Chantler-Hicks

@lydiach.bsky.social

240 followers 380 following 18 posts

Senior reporter at Schools Week, with a special focus on Ofsted and the teacher workforce Email [email protected]

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Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 1d

The government has swung the axe on teacher training incentives – including cutting funding for shortage subjects such as maths and foreign languages

schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-swings-a...

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 7d

🌅 'This framing is a crucial starting point for a new, more evidence-informed conversation about supporting teachers’ growth'

@evidencebased.education's Professors Coe and Kime

Ofsted is helping to put a welcome end to ineffective CPD

The new framework ushers in a new era of professional learning - and that's so much more than a semantic shift

schoolsweek.co.uk

Lydia Chantler-Hicks @lydiach.bsky.social · 8d

NAHT is urging school leaders to write to their employer, demanding in strong terms a full risk assessment of new Ofsted inspections and impact on staff wellbeing.

"This is not simply about workload or stress management. It is about preventing avoidable harm – including the most serious outcomes"

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 8d

School leaders have been told by a union to demand a full risk assessment from their employer over the 'very real dangers to staff wellbeing' of Ofsted’s new inspections

schoolsweek.co.uk/union-tells-...

Union tells school leaders to demand Ofsted risk assessment

School leaders are being urged by union NAHT to write to their employers, demanding steps are taken to assess the risk Ofsted inspections will pose to wellbeing

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 12d

Exclusive: The government plans to introduce a mandatory reading test for year 8 pupils in its upcoming schools white paper, amid fears poorer children are disengaging in the early years of secondary school

White paper to usher in year 8 reading test

Move to ensure poorer pupils are not shut off from wider curriculum

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 12d

The government has finally committed to publishing the full details of how it will deliver on its pledge for 6,500 more teachers – a year and a half after being elected

schoolsweek.co.uk/government-p...

Government promises 6,500 teachers pledge details

DfE will publish a full delivery plan by December

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 19d

Exclusive: Ofsted has been accused of 'mission creep' after it emerged new inspections will mark down teacher training providers that allow the use of 'discredited' research – with the watchdog refusing to say what studies would fall into this category

schoolsweek.co.uk/row-over-new...

Row over new Ofsted ‘high-quality’ research checks

New inspections will judge teacher trainers down if use of 'discredited research' isn't tackled

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 20d

Exclusive: The leadership of the NAHT is considering whether to ballot members for industrial action over Ofsted reforms

Comes after snap poll of 2,000 members at an emergency meeting on Tuesday found 89% supported exploring industrial options

schoolsweek.co.uk/naht-to-cons...

NAHT to consider industrial action ballot over Ofsted reform

Snap poll during meeting of 2,000 heads finds 9 in 10 back exploring industrial options

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

John Dickens @johndickenssw.bsky.social · 27d

Edition 403, done and dusted

Scoop: Ofsted won’t publish full consultation findings

Investigation: armed forces now flag SEND failures

@lydiach.bsky.social hunts for education policy at Reform conference

@jackydys.bsky.social digs into new RISE expansion

Plus: can schools handle voting at 16?

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 28d

📝 Far fewer teachers now say Ofsted's move to ditch headline grades was 'positive' amid concern over the watchdog's new inspection plan, a Teacher Tapp poll has found
schoolsweek.co.uk/fewer-teache...

Ofsted: Fewer teachers now support ditching one-word grades

Poll shows big rise in teachers reporting 'mixed feelings' over inspection change amid report card criticism

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Aug 27

Capita was due to hand administration of teachers' pensions to Indian IT firm Tata Consultancy in October after losing the £233m contract

But the DfE has now confirmed to Schools Week the final handover has been pushed back to 'summer 2026'

schoolsweek.co.uk/handover-of-...

Handover of £233m teachers' pensions contract delayed

Capita's handover to Tata Consultancy Services postponed from October to next summer

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Aug 22

Ofqual’s chief regulator has said he would be 'disappointed' if the number of pupils switching from separate sciences to the double award GCSE continues to rise, but warned it was too early to 'infer a trend'

schoolsweek.co.uk/bauckham-con...

Bauckham concerned over double science GCSE switches

But too early to 'infer a trend' as data suggests 10,000 switch from three separate qualifications

schoolsweek.co.uk

Lydia Chantler-Hicks @lydiach.bsky.social · Aug 21

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Aug 21

Breaking: The proportion of top grade GCSEs handed out to 16-year-olds in England has risen by almost 2 per cent, but regulator Ofqual has hailed 'continued stability' in exam results

schoolsweek.co.uk/gcses-2025-t...

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Aug 14

📉 History has dropped out of the UK’s top five most popular subjects for the first time in years, boys have overtaken girls and the regional attainment gap has grown

Here’s your handy Schools Week round up of all the key A-level trends 🔽
buff.ly/ULma0vD

A-level results 2025: 8 key trends in England’s data

A-level results are out this morning – here’s your handy Schools Week round up of the key trends

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Aug 14

Breaking: The proportion of top A-level grades achieved by students in England has risen slightly again this year – with boys outscoring girls for the first time since the pandemic hit

schoolsweek.co.uk/top-a-level-...

Top A-level results rise slightly again this year

Ofqual says rise may be down to students having 'more accurate picture of strengths to guide post-16 choices'

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jul 30

Inspectors have criticised Ofsted’s demand they complete more than six days of training before new report card inspections begin in November, warning it is symptomatic of 'rushed' reforms

schoolsweek.co.uk/inspectors-c...

Inspectors criticise Ofsted's 'ridiculous' training regime

'We are expected to do all this training in our own time, unpaid'

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jul 22

Ofsted has missed nearly all internal inspection targets this year, its staff are less positive about working there and one in 10 left, the watchdog’s annual report and accounts reveal

schoolsweek.co.uk/missed-inspe...

Ofsted reports missed inspection targets, less happy staff

Ofsted's annual report and accounts reveal it missed its state school inspection target by more than 500 schools this year

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jul 17

Exams regulator Ofqual has admitted botched data has “significantly overstated” the number of pupils receiving extra time in exams for the last decade buff.ly/3rGlcab

Ofqual probe finds exam extra time figures wrong for years

Exams regulator Ofqual says data error means number of pupils receiving extra time 'significantly overstated'

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jul 15

Only the most senior Ofsted inspectors will carry out school inspections when they return in November, meaning fewer will take place than usual

schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-to-in...

Ofsted report cards to be rolled out on reduced timetable

Inspections led by 'most senior' HMIs only when framework launches

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jul 14

Exclusive: Former teachers have turned campaigners to call out the misuse of support plans which they say are being 'weaponised' to 'force out' staff from schools schoolsweek.co.uk/support-plan...

Support plans ‘misused’ to ‘force out’ teachers from schools, say campaigners

Former teachers have turned campaigners to call out the misuse of support plans which they say are being 'weaponised' to 'force out' staff from schools

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jul 8

Three of the more than 4,000 schools inspected so far this year have failed Ofsted safeguarding checks, raising some concerns that inspectors may be missing serious issues buff.ly/jmpSoTx

Just 0.07% of schools now fail safeguarding

Number failing to meet requirements has decreased markedly in recent years

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jul 4

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has backtracked on a key element of her flagship pledge to recruit 6,500 'new' teachers – confirming that they won’t all be new

schoolsweek.co.uk/the-shapeshi...

The shapeshifting 6,500 teachers pledge

Education secretary confirms promised teachers won't all be new, and target omits key subjects aim

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jun 26

Ofsted has pledged that from November, 'most' inspections will include at least one inspector with experience of working in the type of setting they are visiting buff.ly/zzHZCmv

Ofsted pledges specialist inspectors for most visits

All school inspections will also be led by either current or recent HMIs, says the watchdog

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jun 24

Breaking: Leaders’ unions will consider the 'unprecedented step' of asking their members to quit as Ofsted inspectors unless the watchdog delays roll-out of new inspections and ditch plans for five grades

schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-union...

Ofsted: Unions consider asking leaders to quit as inspectors

Leadership unions tell Ofsted they will take the 'unprecedented step' unless watchdog changes course over inspection plans

schoolsweek.co.uk

Reposted by Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jun 23

Teaching unions have stepped up their opposition to new Ofsted report card plans - demanding Bridget Phillipson intervenes to delay their introduction until next September buff.ly/vjDFsOx

Bridget Phillipson urged to delay Ofsted inspections by year

Union bosses say new timeline for the roll-out of Ofsted's revised inspection framework would put 'unacceptable' pressure on schools, as they call for a delay

Lydia Chantler-Hicks @lydiach.bsky.social · Jun 20

A timely finding. One teacher told me the temperature hit 34.7C in a classroom at her London school yesterday, with staff suffering headaches and pupils 'just too uncomfortably hot to focus'

'The climate emergency is here.'

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · Jun 19

As many as 12 teaching days a year could be lost to global heating by the turn of the century, new research shows

schoolsweek.co.uk/pupils-could...

Pupils could lose 12 days a year due to global heating

Stark warning comes as data also suggests 59% of secondary school sites are at a 'high risk' of flooding

schoolsweek.co.uk