How does a school go from having one of the worst truancy records in the country to having one of the best attendance records? "No nonsense and no excuses." That's the message that you keep hearing from staff at Co-op Academy Manchester. There is also a very direct approach from the school's attendance team. Even if a parent rings to say their child is poorly, there could still be a knock on the door to check out the story. Jenny Robey, the school's attendance manager, says she migh...

Ofsted plans to overhaul the way it inspects schools in England, downgrading the influence of exam results in favour of a closer look at pupil behaviour and at the breadth of subjects being taught. Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of schools, outlined details of the new inspection regime, with the current category of “outcomes for pupils” that includes exam performance to be dropped in Ofsted’s inspection reports. “For a long time, our inspections have looked hardest at outcomes, placing t...

The education secretary will say that the UK’s schooling system must be challenged over why “white British disadvantaged boys” are the least likely of any ethnic group to make it to university. Officials said Damian Hinds would push university and business leaders to take action over the issue at a meeting on Monday, as he also announces £24m to boost standards in the northeast of England. The Independent reported earlier this year how the number of white people accepted at universities has dr...

A new app, called GrantFairy, has been created to find scholarships that students are eligible to apply for based on their personal profile. Developers say that, so far, users are typically matched with at least £85,000 in funding opportunities, which they say prospective students are often missing out on because they aren’t told about the cash. Read More.

School spending claims by the Department for Education are being investigated by the UK's statistics watchdog. It follows BBC News reports which showed figures quoted by education ministers defending their record on state school spending included the money spent by university students on tuition fees and parents on private school fees. This has been confirmed by the OECD think tank that compiles the international comparisons of spending figures. Head teachers' leaders have accused the dep...

Chris Ramsey, head of the £37,860-a-year Whitgift School in south London, said that Russell Group institutions are increasingly giving places to 18-year-olds regardless of whether they meet their offers or not. Mr Ramsey, who chairs the universities committee at the Headmasters' and Headmistress' Conference (HMC), said that there is growing concern among schools about the practise. "The biggest gap at my schools was five grades down  from the offer admitted," he told headteachers at the an...

The Office for Students has called for universities and employers to improve degree apprenticeship opportunities so they are available to all who could benefit from them. This follows research which shows that degree apprenticeships are providing opportunities in parts of the country that are under-represented in other forms of higher education and for students who want to learn whilst they are in work later in life. Degree apprenticeships are on the increase, as more employers, colleges and uni...

A new study, by education marketing consultancy GK and Partners, claims three-quarters (75%) of sixth-formers would consider an apprenticeship more seriously if degree apprenticeships were offered in their chosen career. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the 1,051 young people interviewed also say that they would be more likely to apply for an apprenticeship if a UCAS-style format was available. At present, would be apprentices must apply to individual companies. The findings – from the first study to ...

The government should fund colleges to offer GCSE and A levels for all learners, regardless of age, to help plug the country’s skills gap, a new report suggests. In its Filling in the biggest skills gap report, the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) identifies that there are major skills shortages at levels 4 and 5 and suggests that a reason for this is a shortfall of learners progressing from levels 2 and 3. A government review of provision at level 4 and 5 is currently ongoing. The repor...

Government reforms to the curriculum and exam assessment are out of kilter with good educational practice and the wider skills and competencies that employers’ organisations like the CBI have identified as being a desirable outcome of the education system (We need an alternative to universities, 17 August). To this list can be added the fragmentation of the school system, an obsession with academies and grammar schools, school performance indicators fixed to favour progression to a limited numbe...