Lydia Chantler-Hicks

The DfE's post came the same day the Teacher Wellbeing Index revealed teacher wellbeing is at a record low.

ASCL's @pepediiasio.bsky.social says the timing is 'ill-advised at best'. 'At worst it suggests a real lack of understanding'.
@danielkebedeneu.bsky.social calls it 'completely tone deaf'

Leaders should feel energised about Ofsted changes - Oliver Chief inspector says he wants heads to feel 'comfortable and motivated by the changes'

Changes to Ofsted inspections 'should feel energising' to leaders, the chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has said

schoolsweek.co.uk/leaders-shou...

Staff to strike over school's 'dystopian' virtual teacher NEU members are to strike for six days in December and January over a school's use of a 'virtual teacher' to teach maths to secondary pupils

Exclusive: Staff are set to strike for six days in December and January over a school’s roll-out of a 'virtual teacher', who teaches maths remotely to secondary pupils

schoolsweek.co.uk/staff-to-str...

The rise of teaching internships – a recruitment solution? We look at how many teaching interns go on to train as teachers, and the pros and cons of internships

Increasing numbers of university students are taking up paid internships at schools to get a taste for teaching, new figures show.

But are any of them going on to teacher training? And how much does it all cost? Schools Week investigates...

schoolsweek.co.uk/the-rise-of-...

Ofsted slammed over secret consultation analysis method Experts warn of 'risk' decision-makers at inspectorate were not 'provided with the relevant information'

Ofsted has again refused to release data showing how many people supported or opposed its report card inspection plans – saying the 'vast majority' of the 6,500 responses were not actually categorised by 'sentiment'

schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-slamm...

📋Ofsted's new education inspections have launched this week, and I'm keen to find out what leaders and teachers make of them.

If your school's inspected this week or next and you're up for sharing your thoughts, anonymously or otherwise, please do get in touch! Email in bio.

❌ Ministers have suggested rising numbers of assistant heads could be the place to target cost-cutting as schools are forced to make savings to fund future teacher pay rises.

So what’s behind the rise, and is a cut do-able? Schools Week investigates...

Government has announced schools are to be judged on new enrichment benchmarks, despite record numbers cutting extracurricular activities due to funding constraints

A thread rounding up all our curriculum review coverage ...

Ofsted chief wants state school standards 'enshrined in law' Oliver says new legislation would 'stop Ofsted from tinkering' and 'deciding to do something new'

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has called for 'state school standards enshrined in law' to stop the watchdog 'tinkering' with what it assesses in future

schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-chief...

Reform-run Kent council plans £2m school budget raid Leaders say proposals fly in face of pre-election pledges to identify efficiencies from 'DOGE' unit

Exclusive: Reform UK-run Kent council plans to raid £2 million from schools’ already-squeezed budgets to pay for vital services it can no longer afford, sparking fears of more classroom cuts

schoolsweek.co.uk/reform-run-k...

'Deepfake' teacher avatars to help pupils catch up Academy trust staff to use AI generator to introduce resources for pupils returning to school

Exclusive: Teachers will use 'deepfake' technology to create an AI avatar of themselves to deliver catch-up lessons for pupils who have missed school

Watch one of the school’s ‘deepfake’ teachers in our story below

schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-trus...

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...

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

🌅 '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

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"

White paper to usher in year 8 reading test Move to ensure poorer pupils are not shut off from wider curriculum

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

Government promises 6,500 teachers pledge details DfE will publish a full delivery plan by December

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...

Row over new Ofsted ‘high-quality’ research checks New inspections will judge teacher trainers down if use of 'discredited research' isn't tackled

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...

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

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...

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?

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

📝 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...

Handover of £233m teachers' pensions contract delayed Capita's handover to Tata Consultancy Services postponed from October to next summer

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-...

Bauckham concerned over double science GCSE switches But too early to 'infer a trend' as data suggests 10,000 switch from three separate qualifications

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...

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

📉 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

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'

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-...

Inspectors criticise Ofsted's 'ridiculous' training regime 'We are expected to do all this training in our own time, unpaid'

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...

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

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...

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'

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

Ofsted report cards to be rolled out on reduced timetable Inspections led by 'most senior' HMIs only when framework launches

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...