Latest news with #DfE
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Academy trust told to improve 'weak' finances
A trust that runs six schools has been told to improve its financial management. South Cumbria Multi Academy Trust (SCMAT), which runs primary and junior schools in Barrow, Cumbria, has been issued with a notice to improve by the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE said the trust had been issued with a warning letter in March and, while it had co-operated, concerns remained "in relation to the weak financial position and financial management at the trust". SCMAT CEO Andrew Wren said he was confident in the trust's ability to "navigate through this period and emerge as a stronger, more resilient organisation". The DfE said SCMAT had made a request for exceptional financial support and the notice reflected "continued concerns on governance and oversight of financial management". In a letter, it told the trust: "We understand that this decision may be disappointing and want to assure you that we recognise the positive action the trust has taken to date to address the concerns." The trust, which runs Vickerstown, Ormsgill, Newbarns and Cambridge primary schools, and Chetwynde and South Walney junior schools, said it welcomed additional oversight and support from the DfE. All the schools it manages were rated "good" by Ofsted but the trust's most recent published accounts showed a £58,000 deficit, partly blamed on higher than anticipated teacher pay settlements. Prof Wren said the education sector was facing funding challenges and the DfE had recognised the trust's effort to resolve its financial issues. "This intervention is not a reflection of the excellent quality of teaching across our trust led by our dedicated and hard-working staff," he said. "In the past few months, two of our schools have secured good grades across the board from Ofsted and teaching remains unaffected by the formal notice." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. More on this topic School would have had help 'if it was in Surrey' School with £82k hole kept 'haphazard' records Related internet links Department for Education Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
South Cumbria academy trust told to improve 'weak' finances
A trust that runs six schools has been told to improve its financial Cumbria Multi Academy Trust (SCMAT), which runs primary and junior schools in Barrow, Cumbria, has been issued with a notice to improve by the Department for Education (DfE).The DfE said the trust had been issued with a warning letter in March and, while it had co-operated, concerns remained "in relation to the weak financial position and financial management at the trust".SCMAT CEO Andrew Wren said he was confident in the trust's ability to "navigate through this period and emerge as a stronger, more resilient organisation". The DfE said SCMAT had made a request for exceptional financial support and the notice reflected "continued concerns on governance and oversight of financial management".In a letter, it told the trust: "We understand that this decision may be disappointing and want to assure you that we recognise the positive action the trust has taken to date to address the concerns."The trust, which runs Vickerstown, Ormsgill, Newbarns and Cambridge primary schools, and Chetwynde and South Walney junior schools, said it welcomed additional oversight and support from the the schools it manages were rated "good" by Ofsted but the trust's most recent published accounts showed a £58,000 deficit, partly blamed on higher than anticipated teacher pay Wren said the education sector was facing funding challenges and the DfE had recognised the trust's effort to resolve its financial issues."This intervention is not a reflection of the excellent quality of teaching across our trust led by our dedicated and hard-working staff," he said."In the past few months, two of our schools have secured good grades across the board from Ofsted and teaching remains unaffected by the formal notice." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Country's 'strictest' state schools revealed – where does your child's rank?
The number of suspensions at state-funded secondaries in England has more than doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic, government figures show A failing school backed by the Co-op handed out twice as many suspensions in just a year as there are pupils, we can reveal. An astonishing 3,174 suspensions were made at the Co-op Academy Grange in Bradford – nearly 17 a day. The remarkable figure represents the highest at any state secondary in 2023-4, analysis of newly-released Department for Education (DfE) figures show. It comes as the number of suspensions at state-funded secondaries has more than doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 22.6 suspensions per 100 pupils in 2023-4 –a rise from 10.7 in 2018-19. It means the overall number has jumped from 357,715 to 829,896 during the period. Co-op Academy Grange – which can educate up to 1,500 pupils – is part of a trust sponsored by the Co-op Group, the UK's fifth largest food retailer. On its website, Co-op Academy Grange boasts 'we strive to create a nurturing and inclusive environment that supports academic achievement and personal development'. But in June 2023, it was warned by the DfE with termination as a letter stated: 'The number of suspensions for poor behaviour is too high and increasing. This is especially true for disadvantaged pupils and for pupils with SEND. This results in pupils missing valuable learning time and falling behind their peers. Leaders should examine more effectively the causes for vulnerable pupils receiving suspensions and put strategies in place which address these.' The DfE letter added: 'The number of pupils removed from lessons for poor behaviour is high. This disrupts pupils' learning and limits their progression through the curriculum.' And a watchdog inspection in February found the school required improvement across four categories. The Ofsted inspection report, which noted there were 1450 pupils on the school roll, said: 'Actions taken by the school have resulted in the number of pupils' suspensions being much lower than in previous years, although it is still too high.' The regulator rated the school requiring improvement across four categories. The number of suspensions at the school in 2023-4 averaged almost 17 a day across a standard 190-day school year. Camborne Science and International Academy in Cornwall had the next highest number of suspensions with 2,976. The suspension rate was highest in the North East of England, with 39.7 for every 100 pupils. A National Education Union spokesperson said: "The rise in pupil suspensions is a worrying development, especially in secondary schools. When you ask teachers what they need to help students who are struggling, they talk about insufficient numbers of staff, an over-packed curriculum, insufficient pastoral staff, and point to the practically non-existent mental health support for children and young people. 'Schools used to have budgets available for staff to focus on working with families, create small group work for pupils, and additional mentoring for those who need it. All these initiatives are gone because of budget cuts. Bulging class sizes in secondary schools are also a factor. The government's current focus on training and other low-cost initiatives will not solve this problem. What they must get to grips with is the historic shortfall in the funding of schools and local authorities to provide the support families and children so obviously need." Co-op Academies Trust said: 'Over the past few years, we have achieved a dramatic reduction in the rate of behaviour sanctions through concerted efforts across our school, including to raise standards in behaviour and attitudes with the support of parents and families. These figures relate to the 2023/24 academic year and therefore no longer reflect the current picture at the school – indeed data for the current school year already show a further reduction of 50% for suspensions. We remain firmly on a path to accelerating these improvements as we work to ensure every student has access to the educational opportunities and productive learning environment they deserve. Indeed, we were encouraged by feedback from Ofsted in February 2025, which highlighted the strong evidence of improvement underway." A spokesperson for Athena Learning Trust, which Camborne is part of, said: "It's worth noting that with almost 2,000 students, Camborne is nearing twice the size of the average secondary school and so the numbers are always likely to be higher than for a smaller school. The figures referenced also relate to the year before last and we are really pleased that the most recent data shows a clear reduction in suspensions across all our schools. In fact, at Camborne Science and International Academy, suspensions have gone down by over 50 per cent compared to the data published by the DfE. We set the bar high - and we don't shy away from that. In fact, we believe children thrive when they know exactly what's expected of them. The fact that suspensions have more than halved this year, while our expectations have remained just as ambitious, shows that when you hold the line and support students to meet it, they rise to the challenge.' A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Every child deserves to learn in a calm, safe and supportive environment, which is why this government has stepped in to support schools like Co-op Academy Grange through our new regional improvement programme, providing tailored, expert help to improve standards, and reduce avoidable suspensions. More widely, through our Plan for Change, we've wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour, including by working to provide access to mental health support in every school, give children the fuel they need to learn through free breakfast clubs and expand free school meals. We are also setting up new behaviour hubs, that will deliver intensive support to 500 schools across the country facing the greatest challenges with their behaviour.'
BBC News
24-07-2025
- BBC News
Brackley's Magdalen College given government warning over report
A secondary school which was placed in special measures after it was rated as inadequate by an education watchdog has been given a government Department for Education (DfE) issued Magdalen College School (MCS) in Brackley, Northamptonshire, with a warning notice following an Ofsted report which ranked it as "inadequate"It means the secondary risks losing its funding if urgent changes are not a letter to the school's trustees, Carol Grey, the DfE's regional director for the East Midlands, wrote that "rapid and sustainable improvement at the academy" was required. MCS declined to comment on the warning notice. Ms Gray wrote: "If I am not satisfied that this can be achieved, I will consider whether to terminate the funding agreement in order to transfer the academy to an alternative academy trust."While she did "acknowledge the verbal and written assurances the trust has already provided", she called for "longer-term plans" to ensure improvements to safeguarding June, Ofsted's report found pupils at the school had "failed to provide pupils with an acceptable standard of education".The school was downgraded from a previous rating of good, with inspectors finding it failed to ensure "pupils' physical safety".At the time of the report, the school said it "acknowledged" the outcome of the inspection and said it would take the judgement "seriously" as it committed to "urgent" improvements through a "rapid action plan". What did the Ofsted report find? The report, which followed an inspection in April this year, found "staff do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve or how they should behave", with pupil outcomes at the end of key stage four "too low".Inspectors found that "too often" pupils did not engage well or meaningfully with learning activities, with unacceptable levels of lateness or "most pupils feel safe in school", the report also said they "frequently hear other pupils using discriminatory and derogatory language" but did not report it as "they feel the school will not do anything about it."But the report found the school had "developed a clear programme to support pupils' broader development", including online safety and adopting healthy lifestyles. It also found staff had "higher expectations" of its sixth-form said that 1,348 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the mixed gender school, of which 195 are enrolled in its sixth-form. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
North Wales Chronicle
17-07-2025
- General
- North Wales Chronicle
Ofqual data ‘significantly overstated' number of pupils given extra exam time
Ofqual has announced it is withdrawing a decade's worth of statistics on pupils being granted special access arrangements in their GCSEs, AS and A-level exams after identifying issues with the data. It comes after data from the exams regulator last year suggested that nearly a third (30.1%) of pupils in England were given 25% extra time to complete their GCSEs, AS and A-level exams in 2023/24. The original figures, published by Ofqual in November, suggested that 41.8% of all candidates in independent centres – of which the majority are private schools – were granted 25% extra time in their exams in 2023/24, compared with 26.5% in non-selective state schools. But with just weeks to go until A-level results day, Ofqual has admitted that its published figures led to a 'significant overstatement' of access arrangements. A new analysis from Ofqual suggests that the proportion of students receiving access arrangements is 'much more closely aligned' with the proportion of students with special educational needs (Sen) in the school population. Department for Education (DfE) figures published last month suggest that nearly a fifth (19.5%) of pupils in England had Sen support or an education, health and care (EHC) plan in 2024/25. Ofqual said the 'problem' has been with the way the data was recorded and reported rather than how the access arrangements system has been used. For example it included arrangements for students who did not sit exams that year, and duplicate applications for the same student were not filtered out. Schools and colleges apply to exam boards for access arrangements to ensure that those students can sit their exams without being unfairly disadvantaged. Education leaders have suggested that more pupils are seeking support due to a rise in young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) and mental health issues since the pandemic. Requests for 25% extra time in exams is the most common exam board-approved access arrangement for pupils. Tom Bramley, executive director of research and analysis at Ofqual, said there are no issues with the access arrangements system itself and no student should be affected. In a blog on Thursday, he said: 'The approach to access arrangements remains unchanged.' Ofqual is withdrawing its official statistics on access arrangements for GCSE, AS and A-levels from 2014 to 2024. Revised statistics will be published later this year, covering the academic years from 2020/21 onwards, and they will be 'official statistics in development'. A detailed analysis of the data is expected to include updated figures on exam access arrangements for state and private school pupils. Mr Bramley said: 'In 2023 we started considering trends in access arrangements data and began research into how the arrangements were used and perceived in the education sector. 'As part of this work we requested more detailed data from exam boards, which we received at the end of 2024. 'We have always recognised that there are limitations to these figures. 'Our analysis has now revealed that they have led to a significant overstatement of approved access arrangements in place for the exam cohort in each year.' Earlier this year, Ofqual said it would 'take action' if it found that the higher proportion of private school pupils being given extra time in exams was due to unfairness. In February, Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator at Ofqual, told Tes magazine that the regulator was doing 'extra work' as he was 'concerned' by the gap between private school and state school candidates being granted special exam access arrangements. It came after the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called on the exams regulator last year to investigate why private school pupils were more likely to receive extra exam time than state school pupils. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said: 'Ofqual is supposed to be the trusted source for exam statistics and as a result of these significant errors, independent schools have wrongly seen their results undermined and their integrity questioned. 'We are pleased that the investigation instigated by the DfE will lead to a correction of the record and we hope an apology will be forthcoming.' Tom Middlehurst, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'We're pleased that Ofqual has conducted a thorough review of this data to understand why there have been very significant increases in access arrangements. 'Clearly, having identified issues which indicate that this is in fact overstated in the statistics it is the right thing to do to withdraw and correct the data. 'This will lead to a more accurate understanding of trends around access arrangements. 'It is, however, frustrating that the data was apparently incorrect in the first place.' Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'While it is regrettable that problems have been identified with these statistics, Ofqual has done the right thing in withdrawing them and working to correct and republish them. 'Having correct datasets on access arrangements is vital to identify trends and changes across the system. 'School leaders have certainly seen more requests for access arrangements in recent years in the aftermath of Covid, increased reports of anxiety and mental ill-health, and significant rises in numbers of children with additional needs.' A DfE spokeswoman said: 'Ofqual has acted appropriately in firstly reviewing the data and then identifying and addressing the issue as quickly and transparently as possible. 'We welcome Ofqual's commitment to improving data quality and transparency, and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure high standards across the system.' A Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) spokeswoman said: 'Ofqual is responsible for quality assuring and publishing official statistics about access arrangements. 'For the majority of cases, data about access arrangements, such as extra time, is uploaded to a centralised JCQ system used by schools, colleges and other exam centres. 'Individual exam boards provide additional data for a proportion of more complicated cases. 'We will continue to work with Ofqual to make sure that its statistics accurately reflect the number of students who benefit from access arrangements, such as extra time in exams.'
