Academy heads pay the price for snap inspections
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ne in four academies have seen their headteachers depart during the past year – prompting fears of a leadership recruitment crisis.
WHITE PUPILS PERFORM AS WELL AS OTHERS
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The research, by UHY Hacker Young, a firm involved in auditing academy accounts, shows the figures are higher when it comes to secondary schools with nearly one in three heads leaving. The survey of 100 academies showed that while some of the departures were due to retirement, tougher inspections had led governing bodies to remove existing heads.
claim that standards in London schools only soared as a result of the capital’s ethnic mix is dismissed in A trial of “no-notice” inspections research released in February.
Analysis of the dramatic rise in exam passes shows white pupils’ performance improved just as much as any other ethnic group’s. The report, by the CfBT Education Trust, shows that a decade ago white pupils in inner London performed over four points worse that the rest of England. Now they are
Reported in the Independent on 23 February performing better by almost the same amount. Earlier analysis from Bristol University had concluded that lots of pupils from ethnic-minority groups was key to a successful school.
Boris backs Southwark Fire Station as a free school site
The Mayor of London is preparing to intervene in the sell-off of the former Southwark Fire Station to ensure that a new secondary ‘free school’ is opened at the Southwark Bridge Road site. A year since the Fire Station closed its doors, papers published on Friday 19 February show that the Mayor of London intends to use his power of direction to instruct the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority to accept a bid for the site that includes a new secondary school and housing even though it is not the highest cash offer.
resulted in 23 of the 40 schools inspected by education standards watchdog Ofsted being downgraded. UHY Hacker Young said the situation was putting potential heads off from applying for the top job – and could cause an imminent recruitment crisis. The figures come after the Prime Minister, David Cameron, promised that an incoming Conservative Government would look at transferring up to 3,500 schools that are considered by Ofsted to “require improvement” to academy status. Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the study “absolutely squares up with what we’ve been saying – increasing numbers of headteachers are losing their jobs”.