Welsh schools are showing signs of improvement but still face wide variation in teaching quality across the country, according to the new chief schools inspector in Wales.
Ofsted’s chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has instructed his inspectors to mark down institutions if they judge the wearing of the veil to be a barrier to learning and positive social interaction.
The government claims secularist groups will be prevented from submitting ‘vexatious complaints’ against the admissions systems of individual faith schools and will only allow local parents to pursue such objections.
The government is considering new legislation that will ensure schools give equal weighting to apprenticeships and academic options when giving careers advice.
Writing in the Telegraph, Schools Minister Nick Gibb has criticised the culture of overturning new commitments that discourage pupils from studying core academic subjects.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has declared that a lack of cohesive planning means new schools are not always opened where there is most need.
Elizabeth Passmore, the outgoing chief schools adjudicator for England, has published a report containing her concerns regarding the school admissions system, claiming it ‘leaves parents in the dark and fails to serve children well’.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to put education at the heart of the SNP’s election campaign ahead of the Scottish Parliament election in May.
