Lucy Smith
Education, Examinations, Government, School, Statistics

Education committee chair calls for GCSEs to be scrapped

Chairman of the Education Select Committee has labelled GCSEs “pointless” and called for them to be scrapped in a radical overhaul of the English education system. Robert Halfon, Conservative MP for Harlow, believes education would benefit from replacing traditional Key Stage Four exams with a qualification that recognises academic and technical skills, alongside personal development. On Monday, Mr Halfon will address an audience of people from the education sector at the Cabinet War Rooms. He will tell them an emphasis…

Lucy Smith
Absence, Education, Government, Statistics, Uncategorised

We have launched our brand new website

After months of work, we are excited to announce the launch of our brand new website. The site has been designed to provide a user-friendly browsing experience for our valued customers, trusted business partners and anyone interested in working with us. The new website boasts intuitive and consistent site navigation to help you find your way around with ease. It is also fully responsive and mobile/tablet optimised, making it easy to use on a wide range of web browsers and…

Lucy Smith
Absence, Education, Government, Statistics, Uncategorised

Pupil attendance and absence rates, latest figures

Latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show that the overall pupil absence rate sits at 4.5%. One in 10 of those school children are classed as “persistently absent”. A persistently absent child is one who misses school for at least 10% of the time. The figures show that secondary schools had a higher rate of persistent absence than in primary schools. Moreover, unauthorised absence, whether persistent or not, also increased. To assess why pupils skipped classes, the BBC…

Lucy Smith
Education, Government, School

Tories axe plan to scrap free school meals

The government has dropped the controversial Conservative manifesto commitment to scrap free school meals for infants. Schools minister Nick Gibb said the government would “retain the existing provision”, having listened “very carefully” to the views of parents. “We have listened carefully to the sector’s views on the proposal to remove infant free school meals, and we have decided that it is right to retain the existing provision. “Universal infant free school meals ensure that children receive a nutritious meal during…

Lucy Smith
Education, Government, School

£2.4 billion funding boost for England’s schools

Thousands of schools across England are to benefit from a £2.4 billion cash injection, Education Secretary Justine Greening has announced. The news comes as councils say they need to create over 230,000 primary and secondary school places nationally between 2017 and 2020. The funding is aimed at providing a further boost to the government’s drive to help create over 600,000 extra places by 2021, which will generate additional capacity to meet local demand. According to the Department for Education, schools,…

Lucy Smith
Education, Government, Statistics

The Spring Budget 2017 – Implications for education

Chancellor Philip Hammond has confirmed that the government will allocate £320m to free schools which will “enable the creation of new academically selective free schools” – grammar schools in all but name. This money will be used to help fund up to 140 new schools, creating more than 70,000 new places. The Budget will also include a further £216 million to rebuild and refurbish existing schools in England, to ensure that they are fit for purpose. The investment is intended…

Lucy Smith
Education, Statistics, University

Number of students awarded first class degrees soars

The proportion of firsts handed out by UK universities has soared, with a third of institutions now grading at least one in four degrees with the top honour. In some cases, the proportion has more than doubled in five years, according to Press Association analysis of official data. New figures detailing student enrolment and qualifications show a quarter of students at UK universities now graduate with a first-class degree – a dramatic increase from just 17 percent in 2012. Last…