New school targets will ‘monitor teenage pregnancy’

Schools may be held accountable for teenage pregnancy rates under new government plans to improve pupils’ wellbeing. According to the Guardian newspaper, a leaked discussion document from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) moots the idea of making schools accountable for 18 new targets, such as bullying, obesity, and pupils’ actions after leaving […]

Extended schools ‘need better monitoring’

The way progress of the government’s extended schools programme is assessed needs improving, education watchdog Ofsted says. Its largely positive report on children’s centres and extended schools says these organisations are making a “positive contribution” to the lives of children and their families. The report found most schools now offer out-of-school activities like homework clubs, […]

Compulsory cooking classes launch anti-obesity drive

All schoolchildren will be taught how to cook, the government said today. Schools and children’s secretary Ed Balls said the government wanted all 11- to 14-year-olds to be taught how to prepare simple and healthy meals using fresh ingredients. Ministers hope this will encourage healthy eating and leave children less vulnerable to weight gain, as […]

Oliver: Govt to blame for school meals downturn

Jamie Oliver has blamed the government for the troubled implementation of his healthier school meals programme. Speaking for the first time since Ofsted confirmed the healthier meals had not been embraced by pupils, the television chef blamed the government for under funding the scheme. Mr Oliver said the government’s approach to school meals reform was […]

Headteacher union chief laments “decks of clutter”

Britain’s schools have reached a ceiling of achievement because of government interference, a headteachers’ union leader has said. Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, made the claim in his union’s annual conference in Bournemouth this morning. He said that while Britain’s schools have improved on the low standards of the early […]

One in 12 schools ‘inadequate’

One in 12 schools in England and Wales is “inadequate”, the annual Ofsted report has found. The education watchdog finds 13 per cent of secondary schools and seven per cent of primaries are inadequate, and highlights the gap between the best and worst provision as a major cause for concern. Chief inspector of schools Christine […]

Peers reject faith school quota plans

Peers last night voted down another attempt to force faith schools to take a quota of pupils from non-faith backgrounds. Lord Baker’s amendment to allow local authorities to force new faith schools to take up to 25 per cent non-faith pupils was rejected by 119 votes to 37. It was the third time the former […]

One million pupils in ‘underperforming’ schools

Almost one million children are being taught in underperforming schools in England, MPs have warned. The cross-party public accounts committee claims 1,557 schools are underperforming, including four per cent of primary schools and 23 per cent of secondaries. This is despite government funding of £837 million to improve standards, which is in addition to the […]

School standards ‘will not rise for a decade’

It could take a decade for the government’s reforms to improve standards in England’s secondary schools, David Blunkett has argued. The former education secretary said changes to nursery and primary schools had raised the results of national tests in the late 1990s. During an interview with his successor, Estelle Morris, on the Teachers’ TV channel, […]

Ofsted: Schools failing citizenship test

A quarter of secondary schools are failing to teach citizenship to a sufficient standard, a report by education watchdog Ofsted warned today. Compulsory citizenship lessons – which cover subjects including law, local government structures, the electoral system and human rights – were introduced for 11 to 16-year-olds in 2002 as part of a government drive […]