Richard Adams, The Guardian Journalist Profile

Articles

Over half of English councils face insolvency under £5bn deficit, MPs warn

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Richard Adams

Councils in England face being overwhelmed by billions of pounds in debts and reforms that are divorced from reality, according to an influential committee of MPs. In its inquiry into local government finances, the public accounts committee (PAC) told the Treasury and other departments to urgently address the estimated £5bn deficit on high needs spending – mainly on special educational needs – that will hit council balance sheets at the end of the financial year, potentially driving many...
Councils in England warn of mass bankruptcies as Send deficits soar

2 weeks ago | msn.com | Patrick Butler |Abby West |Richard Adams

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High court dismisses challenges against adding VAT to UK private school fees

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Richard Adams

The high court has dismissed a wave of legal challenges against adding VAT to private school fees in the UK, saying that the government’s decision was a rare example of Brexit freedoms.
Councils in England warn of mass bankruptcies as Send deficits soar

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Patrick Butler |Richard Adams

Council leaders in England have warned that a multi-billion pound deficit from years of overspending on special educational needs has become a “burning platform” that will push scores of councils into bankruptcy within months. They say time is running out to resolve rapidly growing shortfalls and are concerned the government gave no indication in Wednesday’s spending review how it will deal with Send debts, which are expected to exceed £5bn by next March.
Ofsted criticised over training manual linking autistic children to extremism

2 weeks ago | msn.com | Rajeev Syal |Richard Adams

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
Ofsted criticised over training manual linking autistic children to extremism

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Rajeev Syal |Richard Adams

Ofsted, the body responsible for safeguarding in education in England, has been accused of “offensive” and “clumsy” discrimination after telling inspectors that children with autism are “at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism”. A training manual used to teach hundreds of school inspectors also claims that children who are autistic are “more likely to develop special interests” and “can be drawn into extremism” as a result.
Jamie Oliver attacks Essex council for not recognising dyslexia as special need

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Richard Adams

The celebrity chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver said he is “disgusted” by his native county of Essex for not formally recognising dyslexia as a special educational need. Discussing his new documentary on dyslexia, Oliver claimed that Essex county council did not want “to spend the money” on those diagnosed with dyslexia, a neurological learning difficulty affecting reading and writing.
Free school meal expansion in England will benefit fewer than claimed, IFS says

3 weeks ago | msn.com | Richard Adams |Eleni Courea

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Free school meal expansion in England will benefit fewer than claimed, IFS says

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Richard Adams |Eleni Courea

The expansion of free school meals will initially benefit far fewer children in England than claimed, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, as data shows more than one in four at state schools already receive free lunches. The figures from the Department for Education’s annual school census show that 25.7% of all pupils now receive free school meals (FSM), up by more than a percentage point compared with last year and nearly double the 13.6% in 2017.
Cambridge University appoints first Jewish professor of Hebrew

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Richard Adams

When Henry VIII established a royal professorship in Hebrew nearly 500 years ago, the idea that a Jew would fill the role at Cambridge studying the ancient language of the Israelites was impossible. “It’s not surprising, if you know that at the time of Henry VIII Jews were banned from England. So that was quite a technical obstacle,” said Prof Aaron Koller, who later this year will become the first Jewish occupant of the post since 1540.