
John Dickens
Editor at Schools Week
Multi-award winning investigative journo. Editor of education paper @SchoolsWeek. Former Slough Obs, nationals freelancer. Tips: [email protected]
Articles
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2 weeks ago |
schoolsweek.co.uk | John Dickens
More from this theme Recent articles When Rachel Filmer tried to launch a petition in December demanding that ministers commit to laws mandating support for pupils with SEND, it was turned down by the government website. She was told that, because such plans were not under consideration, the petition was not valid. But she pushed back, and the petition was published, to little fanfare, in April.
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3 weeks ago |
schoolsweek.co.uk | John Dickens
The Conservative government’s SEND improvement plan “did not go far enough” to resolve the major issues in the special needs system, the new government has said. In a 17,000-word response to the education committee’s SEND inquiry, Department for Education officials tore through the reforms – which were three years in the making. They said they did not look hard enough” at wider barriers and “perverse” incentives to more inclusive schools.
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1 month ago |
schoolsweek.co.uk | Lydia Chantler-Hicks |Jack Dyson |Rosa Furneaux |John Dickens
More from this theme Recent articles Families of children with SEND have lost a High Court legal challenge in which they alleged cash-strapped councils had broken the law over controversial “safety valve agreements”.
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1 month ago |
schoolsweek.co.uk | Jack Dyson |Rosa Furneaux |John Dickens |Lydia Chantler-Hicks
More from this theme Recent articles England’s biggest council has shelved proposals as part of a new inclusion strategy to overhaul what it called “restrictive” special schools after legal threats from leaders. The revamp was planned by Kent council as part of widespread reforms to provision for pupils with special needs following damning Ofsted inspections.
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2 months ago |
schoolsweek.co.uk | JL Dutaut |John Dickens
More from this theme Recent articles Debate about the value of a dyslexia label has recently resurfaced as Jamie Oliver has launched his campaign to ‘change the system, not the kids’. This campaign slogan highlights a sense many children who struggle with literacy and their families have that they are written off too soon, not because they don’t have potential, but because the education system is unable to accommodate and recognise diverse strengths and ways of learning.
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‘Wokingham Borough Council estimates that a delay last year in opening two new special schools will cost £20 million by 2030 – the same amount the council has been pledged in government bailouts to get its high-needs deficit under control’ 🙄

🔍 Investigation: Councils on the controversial safety valve scheme are blaming government delays in opening new special schools for undermining their plans to shrink huge financial deficits https://t.co/ty4YA3V79T

Big scoop from Schools Week today Ofsted is now mulling whether to delay new inspections until January No decision made yet, but another sign the inspectorate is conceding some ground amid fierce sector backlash over the reforms timeframe

Exclusive: Ofsted may postpone the roll-out of its new school inspections until 2026, Schools Week can reveal https://t.co/nDF1wSHT5C

Trusts running lauded maths hubs have been told their budgets will be much less next year as extra funding for the axed ABS ends Some are worried about the impact on support they can provide. It comes after Labour wielded the axe to other hubs Scoop @lydiachSW 👇

Exclusive: Funding for the government’s widely lauded maths hubs scheme will fall by 20 per cent next year, with one trust saying its budget has been slashed by a third https://t.co/lze8RnFwGY