Exclusive: One of England’s biggest academy trusts is set to give up two special schools after deciding they would be better off in a specialist chain schoolsweek.co.uk/lift-academy...

👨‍🏫 When Andrew Truby took leadership of a Catholic trust, he was on his own and had no schools He reveals how he built the 'home for orphans’ and secured its future, during a career that has been characterised by seizing opportunities... 🔽 schoolsweek.co.uk/andrew-truby...

Exclusive: School governing boards are urging Ofsted to ensure cash-strapped leaders are using SEND funding for children and not to fill other budgetary holes schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-shoul...

❗The success of one of the highest-performing schools in the country has been 'achieved at too high a cost for some pupils', a safeguarding investigation has found schoolsweek.co.uk/mossbourne-s...

Presenting edition 413 of Schools Week 💷 Investigation: The council schools with million-pound deficits 🏫 School spotlight: Internal AP 👂 Fears over last-minute SEND listening exercise Plus teacher recruitment, free school meals, falling rolls and more Subscribe: schoolsweek.co.uk/subscribe-to...

Some worrying findings here: 📈 71% rise in council-run schools in deficit in three years ❗️48 schools over £1m in the red 📝Deficit schools charged up to £340k in 'interest'

Amid the success, there are rumblings of discontent over admissions and inclusion on the Isle of Sheppey following one of England's biggest school restructures We look in depth at all that's happened… 👇

Exclusive: A pioneering three-school trust in London plans to join one of England’s biggest MATs in the latest high-profile academy merger schoolsweek.co.uk/big-educatio...

💸 A school has been refused permission to cut its intake by a quarter despite estimates of a 'catastrophic' £2 million deficit after the local authority opposed the plans

Just days after government's big announcement of their launch, new AI-generated attendance reports have been suspended... 😬

👀 Officials want to reduce the 'legal risks' schools face when buying MIS This follows a string of costly court fights, involving local authorities and some of England's biggest MATs...

We revealed last year how almost £200m had been handed to trusts through this secret fund There was no published guidance explaining what it was or who could access the money But now DfE seems to have finally responded to calls for greater transparency...

👔 Schools must 'confirm as soon as possible' and consider legal advice on any uniform changes needed for a new cap on branded items, with parents able to escalate any disputes to government schoolsweek.co.uk/school-unifo...

💸 One in five council-run primaries could be plunged into deficit as the falling rolls crisis deepens, with 20 per cent of teachers already laid off in the worst-hit areas

❗️Seventy-five trusts – one with a deficit of almost £6 million – raised concerns about their ability to continue operating in 2023-24, more than double the year before Our investigation ⬇️ schoolsweek.co.uk/academy-scho...

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...

This year, SATs moderators will be tested on questions written by AI, rather than actual children’s work The pilot has been launched amid a government push to ‘harness the power of AI technology across the sector’ Our exclusive👇

💸 An academy trust broke rules after paying nearly £5,000 in 'consultancy services' to the mother of its CEO, a government investigation has found schoolsweek.co.uk/academy-trus...

❌ Exclusive: A controversial decision allowing a school to introduce fair banding has been withdrawn by the admissions watchdog over allegations important evidence was ignored

Our investigation found: 👤In a fifth of RISE schools, advisers brokered in support from organisations employing fellow advisers 🔁 Organisations providing RISE support have their own 'stuck' schools 👥️ MATs with more than one RISE school receiving support from different bodies

❗️This has reignited concerns over fair banding, with one head arguing it 'systematically discriminates against certain groups' Full story ⬇️

LAs have reported what they suggest are tactics by schools to skew cohorts One council even accused secondaries of practices that 'amount to selection' Our investigation into the issues hampering in-year pupil transfers ⬇️

Exclusive: A council has raised 'serious concerns' over Catholic schools lowering the importance of looked-after children in admissions after a youngster in care was refused a place at the school deemed 'most appropriate' by their social worker schoolsweek.co.uk/serious-conc...

Edition 404 done and dusted Special school admissions investigation The sector grades Ofsted Our first Boardroom Leader Northern Star Academies Trust takes the School Spotlight @edsupportuk.bsky.social CEO talks defining high stakes

Here, we take a closer look at the RISE expansion, as analysis suggests hundreds of schools could fall within scope of the teams' new powers... ⬇️

🖥️ Exclusive: A management information system (MIS) outage at a major supplier has left schools unable to pay suppliers, run after-school clubs and respond to safeguarding concerns

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?

❌ Exclusive: Vital construction work on schools involved in England’s biggest PFI deal could be left incomplete, despite a council pumping in £3.5 million of its own money to fill a funding shortfall schoolsweek.co.uk/councils-ill...

🔎 Investigation: Armed intruders, shootings near by and seagulls have forced schools teaching almost 100,000 pupils into lockdown schoolsweek.co.uk/lockdown-the...

📉 The regional attainment gap has widened again, with the north east falling further behind London Following the release of A-level results, leaders are calling for government to take 'urgent' action to battle the 'entrenched divides' Schools Week investigates 🔽 schoolsweek.co.uk/this-is-not-...

Big story The secure school has been dubbed a 'revolutionary idea' in youth custody, with government wanting to roll out more across the country But - just 12 months after launching - its young offenders will be moved over concerns scores of its doors can be 'barged' through

'Concerning' emails are said to have been traded by government officials about the potential Grenfell bans - which could impact 'every single school project' Our story ⬇️

Schools are fighting against local authority attempts to place children with SEND in their classes – with some even using youngsters’ education, health and care plans (EHCPs) to say they cannot meet their needs, councils say schoolsweek.co.uk/enforcement-...

Exclusive: England’s biggest academy trust has backtracked on controversial plans to let teachers opt into a less generous pension scheme to boost their pay from this September, unions have claimed schoolsweek.co.uk/mat-backtrac...

Exclusive: The government is drawing up new guidance for schools and parents over complaints to 'reduce the burden on leaders'  schoolsweek.co.uk/government-p...

🔎 The government will launch compliance checks next year to find out whether schools are meeting requirements to let further education providers talk to their pupils about future study options

Coverage around Labour's schools bill has been dominated by the concerns of high-profile trust CEOs and former ministers believing it will hit educational standards So last week we went on a mission to find the MAT bosses who back it and asked them why...

📝 'Wholly unsuitable' education, health and care plans and long wait times for vital services were among the key reasons areas failed SEND inspections, new analysis by Ofsted shows buff.ly/TWk3RBL

❌ An academy trust has walked away from merger plans at the last minute, claiming the trust it was joining had been plunged into “instability” after the sudden resignation of its chair schoolsweek.co.uk/academy-trus...

💼 Union chiefs are urging one of England’s biggest MATs to extend its 30-minute lunch breaks – instead of teaching time – after announcing strikes across 14 of its schools

Edition 395 of @schoolsweek.bsky.social done and dusted Everything you need to know about today's pay announcement @jackydys.bsky.social on high needs funding woes Plus @johndickenssw.bsky.social long-read on the backlash to government SEND thinking Subscribe: schoolsweek.co.uk/subscribe-to...

With school budgets coming under increasing pressure, the findings have reignited debate about what level of school reserves should be deemed appropriate My investigation 👇

Who are the 'stuck' schools getting support from new RISE advisers? Super analysis from @jackydys.bsky.social dissecting the key findings schoolsweek.co.uk/who-are-the-...

❌ Exclusive: The government has all but ruled out naming individuals responsible for academy trust scandals in public investigation reports as it admits to fears that it could be sued schoolsweek.co.uk/academy-scan...

Super long read from @jackydys.bsky.social who has spoken to new school improvement advisers to shed light on some unanswered questions about how they will operate

Ministers say the teams consist of 'the best of the best in school improvement' - but many sector leaders remain sceptical One former minister branded them '65 people brandishing clipboards who will run around the country offering advice' So we took a closer look ⬇️

Important one, this Some academy sceptics claim MATs charge their schools greater amounts than councils for services away from the classroom But our findings challenge those assertions...

❌ Exclusive: Governors of Catholic schools who oppose plans to join new mega MATs have been told by their South Yorkshire diocese they 'should resign', our investigation has found buff.ly/daeNtaS

This week, I dived into the secret world of GAG pooling More MATs are choosing to pool school budgets to smooth funding inequalities and send more money to academies with the greatest need But public information doesn't clearly show how this cash is divvied up - so I took a closer look...

The governance relationship between diocese and academy governors is sometimes a rocky one, and the move to Catholic school mega MATs is again causing some problems Great investigation by @jackydys.bsky.social