schools

Free schools: what are they good for?

As the first tranche of free schools are rolled out this week, how far can we expect them to raise overall educational standards? Read more

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Cracking the code

It may be the summer, but public sector accountants still have work to do in updating the code of practice governing local government accounting Read more

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End-of-term education manoeuvres

With the phone hacking scandal dominating the news, the government has taken the opportunity to make some changes to education funding and the qualification structure Read more

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Gove goes back to basics

The education secretary’s new focus on disadvantaged schools is to be welcomed, but teachers will have their work cut out trying to achieve his new targets for GCSE attainment Read more

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Back to the drawing board on school building, by John Keyes

The James Review on school building is a further illustration of the tension between the localism agenda and the need for cost efficiencies. Read more...

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Transparently political, by Colin Talbot

Complete transparency about anything Eric Pickles can think of that will grab a headline is the order of the day for local government. The Communities Secretary’s latest wheeze is that any local government official earning more than £58,200 is to be named, individually, on-line. Read more...

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Exclusion confusion, by Paul Gutherson

One aspect of the coalition government’s education white paper that has passed with little comment is the proposed new approach to permanent exclusions. Read more...

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The real price of PFI, by Margaret Cuthbert and Jim Cuthbert

The financial crisis and the Comprehensive Spending Review have put severe pressure on public sector bodies to cut back on spending and to increase efficiency. The way in which the axe will fall on services, however, may be far from even-handed. Some commitments entered into in the days of relative plenty are contractual commitments that will last in some cases for possibly 50 years. Once these contractual commitments are honoured, then the squeeze required on other service areas may be disproportionately severe. Read more...

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Gove’s curriculum conundrums, by Conor Ryan

Michael Gove has finally launched his curriculum review today. It is a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, the education secretary is keen to promote greater freedoms for schools, with more academies and free schools. For many schools converting to academy status, the freedoms in the curriculum are an important incentive. On the other, he clearly believes that there is a body of knowledge that every young person should experience during their school days. Read more...

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Lessons from league tables, by Conor Ryan

The coverage of the school league tables today is littered with predictable claims of ‘failure’ across the system, doubtless stoked by coalition ministers anxious to exaggerate the scale of their task. Read more...

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