Exclusive, I think: School which was forced into arms of England’s largest academy trust now facing crisis
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/school-wh… Holland Park School in West London has announced departure of its fifth substantive headteacher in four years, while NEU staff members put together an explosive letter warning of "unsustainable" situation under United Learning Trust.

So – I got well and truly turned over by @NewStatesman after spending time with them recording an interview for a podcast on academies and the schools bill. Really, really unhappy about this – I will never buy the magazine again - so thought I’d post a few thoughts. The magazine had emailed me late Monday afternoon to ask if I’d participate in the podcast, to be recorded the following morning.

New: Did teachers at one controversial Astrea academy have to miss lessons to be on site at an Ofsted inspection at another? educationuncovered.co.uk/news/173536/di… New twist on debate over whether MATs should be allowed to bring in staff, who would not normally be on a school site, just for inspections.

Good to hear @BBCr4today seeking out both sides of the academies debate today. But this debate often seems to generate more heat than light. Brief thread now, with some thoughts, given I’ve been investigating the policy since 2000. Academy supporters, notably the Conservatives, point to improved international test results in recent years. Some evidence for that. But tricky to pin this directly to academies. Primary results have improved, w less than half of schools academies, for eg.

New: Teachers working in some of England’s largest academy chains are leaving their jobs at twice the rate of their counterparts in non-academy state schools, while academies are spending less in the classroom than local authority maintained schools:
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/171951/hi… This is an investigation I carried out for @CASEupdate . Story on my website is based on extensive trawls of DfE school spending and workforce data, and FOI disclosure of school teacher turnover data.

New: “Crisis” for David Ross academy brings scrutiny to Conservative donor’s chain of schools

educationuncovered.co.uk/news/171056/cr… A look at recent goings-on at Lodge Park Academy, Corby, Northants, and issues around central management, governance and regulation in this school, controlled by the 35-academy David Ross Education Trust (DRET).

New: Ofsted awards controversial academy a “good” – with no mention of teacher turnover and with nearly nine out of 10 responding parents saying they would not recommend it

Astrea’s Longsands academy awarded Ofsted’s second-highest rating.educationuncovered.co.uk/news/170586/of… As an experienced Ofsted-watcher, increasingly staggered by finding goings-on on the ground not reflected in inspection reports, I thought I had lost the capacity to be surprised. But this one has shocked me, today.

New: Departing teacher delivers scathing criticisms of academy trust’s policies, in school she describes as “totalitarian”

Another teacher leaving an Astrea secondary school in Cambs lifts the lid on classroom-level problems, as she sees them.educationuncovered.co.uk/news/168766/de… Her three-page resignation letter includes criticism of “intimidating” “army-style” line-ups in the playground, with this teacher saying she felt uncomfortable asking students to lift their trouser legs so she cd check their shoes and socks+did not want to be someone they "fear".

Another vignette about Astrea academy trust. Parents at one of its 2ndaries in Cambs were sent a message from school yesterday warning daughters not to wear black socks over black tights. Message said that students had been reminded that this was vs the rules, despite the cold... The message said: “As part of our relentless focus on raising standards…we are reminding students that they are not to be wearing black socks with tights while at school.

New: Academy which locks gates in front of toilets during lessons tells parent that many modern workplaces restrict access to the loo
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/167511/ac… Parent whose child faced extreme distress when not managing to go to the toilet during lessons given the explanation at Astrea Academy Woodfields, Doncaster.

New: Michaela head told inspectors the school did not teach music in year nine mainly because pupils “are not really interested in the subject”.

Long read piece on the inspection notes on Michaela Community School,which I FOI’d following its recent report.educationuncovered.co.uk/news/166381/mi… The notes, though heavily redacted, make fascinating reading, revealing multiple ways in which the school was interrogated by inspectors, with a string of conclusions not reflected in the published Ofsted report.

New: DfE behaviour adviser’s company paid “unlawful dividend” of £211,800, accounts reveal

Company founded and part-owned by Tom Bennett, and running training events, paid the amount in total to owners Mr Bennett and an Anna Bennett in 2022-23.tinyurl.com/yetsj2k5 Anvil Education Ltd is the company. It trades as Tom Bennett Training and puts on courses in behaviour management for teachers and heads.

New: The one-sentence dismissal of academies reform by Labour-leaning think thank – and why this is so disappointing

Non-consideration of school organisation, in otherwise radical report, is surprising and sadly I think undermines its aims fundamentally.educationuncovered.co.uk/analysis/analy… First, the logic of non-consideration of school structures, as set out here, is problematic.

New: Teachers at Astrea secondary academy told to remove all items from the front of their classrooms – and to have all year groups reading with a ruler

Latest developments at Astrea’s St Ivo Academy, in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.educationuncovered.co.uk/news/165556/te… Staff sources are describing as excessive “micro-management” the latest directives from Sheffield-based Astrea, which have seen teachers told to remove furniture, artwork in art classrooms and even rubbish bins from front of their classrooms.

New: DfE has no record of its regional director passing parental concerns about effects of a school's behaviour policies to Ofsted – even though complaint had mentioned suicidal thoughts among children
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/165476/df… FOI finds office of Regional Director J Duff had no correspondence with Ofsted re detailed letter and evidence sent by parents’ group at Astrea’s St Ivo school, Cambs.

New: Academy trusts wasting millions of pounds on highly-paid managers
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/164366/ac…
Possibly the most extensive trawl of academy accounts ever, plus analysis of LA accounts and FOIs, finds large MATs spending 8x as much per pupil on £130k+ managers as are large LAs. Yet there is no definitive evidence that the academies sector has provided higher quality to pupils as a result.

New: Consultation responses overwhelmingly reject MAT plan – but governors plough on with it
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/164351/co…
Latest on academisation move at the Leathersellers’ federation of schools in Lewisham, south London. There has been some transparency in this case, though opponents point out it has come very late, with discussions having gone on between the federation and the DfE about academisation since 2021.

Exclusive: "Teach Like a Champion" academy trust sets out minute-by-minute expectations on how teachers should conduct lessons tinyurl.com/47jac2xu
Detailed look at teaching materials sent to staff at St Ivo school in Cambs by Astrea, the 27-school trust which controls it. These materials see the central MAT seeking to direct staff to implement very tightly policies originating in Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion books.

New: Transparency and good conditions for teachers? Why would you want to guarantee that? says DfE
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/163816/tr… Emails between DfE and the leader of the Leathersellers’ Federation of schools in Lewisham, S London, which is proposing to academise, offer insights into the deregulatory nature of the academies policy.

Right, have published six stories today, analysing documents and data associated with the government’s now-probably-little-talked-about-but-nevertheless-very-interesting Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund (TLIF) policy. The official evaluation report on TLIF, plus an FOI response re the amount the DfE spent on each TLIF project, and, especially, contract information on each, has provided some fascinating information and revelations for these investigations. So, here we go…

Just reading recent HMCI speech on Ofsted and research... HMCI said: "Discerning strength, weakness...in research requires professional judgement. And without this, cargo cults and lethal mutations can emerge." Yes, so probably best for Ofsted not to have based statement on ppls enjoying tests on a study involving 5 children.