News

Teachers at world-famous hospital school complain of “toxic” working environment which has seen them out on 14 days of strike

18 December 2025

The Great Ormond Street Hospital school has had a stable workforce for years, with teachers testifying to “incredibly rewarding” work with extremely sick children. But the atmosphere has changed in recent months, a union states.

Former headteacher and DfE adviser Ruth Miskin sees her phonics company’s value climb to £19 million

18 December 2025

Post-tax profits at Ruth Miskin Literacy, whose sole shareholder is Dame Ruth, have approached £10 million in the past four years. The company turns 20 years old on Sunday. It plans to invest in an expansion drive overseas, say the accounts.

Two-school academy trust bidding to cut teaching assistant pay by "up to £4,000 per year" – despite reserves of nearly £4 million

16 December 2025

Strike action at Woodfield School, run by Compass Learning Partnership, which also spent more than £1.35 million on “key management personnel” in 2023-24.

77,000 detentions in 3.5 years – but will “no excuses” culture at Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy change?

12 December 2025

Damning review of implementation of behaviour policies at the London school came with recommendations to which the government says the trust must now respond.

“Our curriculum review is not a ‘copy and paste’ from England,” senior Northern Ireland civil servant tells Assembly members

11 December 2025

“Knowledge-rich” reforms are drawing support from across the political spectrum internationally, committee told.

Councils warn home-to-school transport system is “outdated, expensive and failing families”

9 December 2025

“We’re working with a 1940s system in 2025,” Public Accounts Committee hears, with £2.5 billion being spent. Reporter: Ciara Cassidy.

Two schools which fought off privatisation get “wonderful” early Christmas present – as donor clears their debts

8 December 2025

Anonymous donor appears to have come up with a six-figure gift, to ease schools' money worries.

Sound familiar? Controversial Conservative education reforms seemingly heading for Northern Ireland

3 December 2025

Education Minister Paul Givan has introduced a raft of reforms drawing heavily on the work of Michael Gove and Nick Gibb, with well-known traditionalist educationists from England brought in en masse to offer their advice.

Teachers at troubled chain of free schools to be balloted on strike action

1 December 2025

Move comes after Canary Wharf College proposes its takeover by another local academy chain – and then announces plans to cut its distinctive long holidays while reducing length of the school day, with two months’ notice.

School’s £300,000 legal bills revealed through freedom of information response

24 November 2025

Pensby High School, on the Wirral, has paid the money in legal battles, including against parents and a former staff member.

Government makes significant concession to overseas-trained teachers, as recruits from six countries are given fast-track access to Qualified Teacher Status

21 November 2025

Move follows coverage in Observer last year of conditions facing Jamaican recruits to Harris Federation schools

Cutting academy reserves to level seen in LA schools would release £1.5 billion for spending in classrooms

18 November 2025

Academies sector as a whole had £2.7 billion sitting in reserves in 2023-24, this website's analysis shows, as DfE says schools could be doing more to make use of their funds.

The academy chains sitting on £1 billion of reserves

18 November 2025

Some 63 academy trusts collectively held £1 billion in 2023-24, DfE data shows, with the 10 with the highest levels of reserves sitting on a third of a billion between them.

Under-pressure academy trust forced by minister to reverse its decision to close school sixth form

17 November 2025

The 24-school academy chain has had its proposed closure of Nether Stowe School’s sixth form in Lichfield blocked by the government, with ministers concerned about local options for students.

Campaigners launch crowdfunding drives, shining spotlights on school attendance pressures and the experience of Ofsted

13 November 2025

Stressful scenarios within education could both benefit from greater scrutiny and discussion, the fundraisers argue.

The local authority where eight academy trust chief executives are paid more than the Prime Minister

11 November 2025

Union branch secretary, who carried out the research, said “the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of MAT executives” was undermining the principle of public education.

Academy trust cuts sanction for children with “inappropriate hairstyles” from three days in isolation to two

3 November 2025

Pupils at the Gorse Academies Trust also face “isolation” for “lines in their eyebrows,” for uniform violations, or for forgetting their student planner twice, its behaviour policy states. However, the chain running academies in Leeds has reduced the severity of some of its sanctions, which faced scrutiny this summer during a judicial review case brought by three pupils. Meanwhile, Michaela Community School can place children in “referral” for offences over uniform, hairstyle and “damaging the School’s reputation”.

Scores of job cuts lined up by academy trust, whose schools’ “topslice” soared up to six-fold in three years

22 October 2025

Last year the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership charged its schools a topslice of 20 per cent - more than £1m each in five of its schools. It is now poised to cut up to 100 jobs.

Academy trust which ran into trouble after spending “millions” on iPads for pupils and staff now under fire over plans to close school sixth form

20 October 2025

Arthur Terry Learning Partnership has told parents that the sixth form had had “very low numbers for a number of years”. Yet its roll had been beyond that set out in its funding agreement with the DfE.

“Absurd” demands being placed on Ofsted inspectors by new inspection framework, new analysis suggests

14 October 2025

Former senior inspectors calculate that inspection teams are being asked to make more than 300 judgements on each primary school during their short visits, based on content of Ofsted’s guidance for inspectors.

Schools are rejecting children because of their additional needs, says select committee chair. But Ofsted gives no indication it will hold institutions to account

14 October 2025

Sir Martyn Oliver, chief inspector, also said it was “staggering” that 84 per cent of children’s homes are now operated by private providers.

Union reaches 25th day of strikes over impact of closure of alternative provision facility in East London

10 October 2025

NEU seeking to cap class sizes and guarantee learning support assistants at London East Alternative Provision centre.

Disadvantage gap for access to some subjects outside the EBacc core has grown dramatically in past 10 years, new data analysis shows

9 October 2025

Children attending schools in poorer areas now much more likely than they were a decade ago not to be offered courses in design and technology, music, or performing arts.

DfE seeks consultants for £500-a-day work to rewrite England’s national curriculum

8 October 2025

Invitation to tender document also reveals that ministers expect much of the detailed programmes of study work on the curriculum to be completed by next summer. But the instruction to consultants is: you must not use AI.

Warning about pressures on senior staff at Gorse Academy Trust, after leak of management presentation

6 October 2025

Slides say Leeds-based chain has "routine expectation" that senior leaders are "working very hard". "Success does not come from cutting corners regarding the implementation of GORSE Code," slides warn.

ResearchED: where does the money go?

3 October 2025

Conference organisation, controlled by a single person, is said by its director, Tom Bennett, to have had 1,300 people attend its flagship event last month in London, for which it paid no venue hire costs. Two years ago, Mr Bennett emphasised that the organisation was not-for-profit, and not paying salaries. But questions remain about its funding and set-up.

Government’s “refresh” of the national curriculum risks “baking in” Conservative reforms, conference told

25 September 2025

Lack of a detailed consideration of what the curriculum is for means the "objectives" of Michael Gove's 2014 document stand to be retained, warns senior NEU campaigns manager.

Multi-academy trust has sold land at three of its schools in the past six years, it reveals

24 September 2025

Disclosures by Anglian Learning continue investigation into academy policy's implications for control of land

Lord Harris complains: where are my new schools?

19 September 2025

Lord Harris one of several peers to ask for news on list of free schools whose projects were paused after Labour came to power. Meanwhile, another academy "sponsor" fails in bid to introduce new audit requirements on non-academies.

Questions abound following academy trust’s sell-off of secondary school’s land for housing

19 September 2025

Anglian Learning's sale of plot on which former caretaker's house sat shines a light on public/private debate around land ownership in the academies sector.

“Not even Manchester United are this bad” High-profile peer savages UK record on pupil wellbeing

18 September 2025

Cross-bench peer Lord O'Donnell highlights damning statistics from international testing study, in calling for national wellbeing measurement in schools. But government rejects the move, partly on grounds of cost.

Union hails improvements in teachers’ conditions at Cornwall primary school, as a result of strike action last term

11 September 2025

NEU says concessions from Kernow Learning Multi Academy Trust show "what is possible when education staff act collectively".

Revealed: academy trust has taken almost all the schools income from one of England’s most successful phonics products, while LA partner primary received virtually nothing

8 September 2025

Little Wandle appears to have handed the overwhelming share of schools income to the Wandle Learning Trust, whose work with it has been headed by a male headteacher. Meanwhile, the local authority primary school after which it also takes its name, which was led by a female headteacher, has received virtually nothing.

MAT closes school sixth form to new entrants on day term due to start – despite accounts stating its reserves were above government recommendations

5 September 2025

East Anglian Schools Trust closes Bungay High's year 12 provision with immediate effect - raising questions about both its finances and England's now-less-public schools system.

Vote in favour of academisation in the next 15 minutes or your staff won’t get paid, trust chief executive told governor

23 July 2025

Case at Catholic primary school seems indicative of pressure which can be put on schools to convert.

Support staff worker wins £36,000 payout at employment tribunal – four years after being offered £10k in non-disclosure settlement by school

23 July 2025

“Finally I felt heard, seen, and understood,” Charlotte Bentley tells Education Uncovered after the tribunal’s verdict. Case came after she had had requests to work from home during the Covid pandemic rejected by Oaks Park high in Redbridge, North London.

Major academy trust “not paying TLRs to any of its subject leaders,” union warns

18 July 2025

Kernow Learning Multi Academy Trust said the payments were "not financially viable or common practice" in primary education.

DfE’s new Writing Framework will “bore the pants off children”, says literacy expert whom it namechecked

17 July 2025

Professor Debra Myhill among educationists with scathing critiques of the new document.

Ruth Miskin announces "new handwriting programme" for schools – days after government reveals new focus on handwriting, following her advice

16 July 2025

Rival phonics publishers furious about what they see as unfair commercial advantage given to Ms Miskin in formulation of DfE's new writing framework, which Ms Miskin denies.

Academy sacks primary class teacher with immediate effect after she takes part in union strike

14 July 2025

Move comes just weeks after its head teacher praised her teaching as helping her class “thrive,” with her continuing work with them ensuring stability for her seven- and eight-her-old pupils.

English pupils’ absence from school is because of “design failure” in the education system, psychologists warn

10 July 2025

Education system is damaging many young people's mental health, more than 300 clinical and educational psychologists tell the government.

Jamaican teachers still suffering from poor treatment at Harris academy, staff on the picket line warn

8 July 2025

Treatment of overseas-trained teachers one of three issues at Harris Academy Beckenham, with teachers also telling Education Uncovered of difficulty they face accessing toilets during the working day.

Five per cent of Parliamentary Labour Party, including Wes Streeting, have higher number of EHCP children in their constituencies than their winning general election margin

7 July 2025

Exclusive Education Uncovered analysis shows 22 Labour MPs have higher number of EHCP pupils in their constituency than their majority last July.

DfE urged by subject associations to make radical changes to English GCSE, among host of other recommendations

4 July 2025

English associations looking for change which appears to go beyond the curriculum and assessment review's promise of "evolution, not revolution".

Major project to investigate teacher effectiveness defends itself against possible concerns, including financial support from high-profile trading firm

2 July 2025

Teacher Education Dataset project, using pupils' assessment results from multi-academy trusts involved in the National Institute of Teaching, has had to guarantee that the data will be anonymised so that it cannot be used for teacher accountability.

School, which told community it struggled to find money for heating, finds £200,000 for legal case against parents

27 June 2025

Judge orders transparency over payments for legal costs, following Freedom of Information challenge

Schools on strike over Catholic multi-academy trust’s alleged 20 per cent-plus topslice

25 June 2025

Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust said to be charging schools for services local authority would be providing for free.

String of schools featured by Education Uncovered have high teacher turnover rates, official DfE data show

23 June 2025

School-by-school statistics show high teacher departure rates in some institutions.