Parents will be able to claim back up to £1,200 a year – or 20% of childcare costs – from 2015, under plans set to be unveiled by the coalition government. Parents will be allowed to claim back 20% out of a total of around £6,000 – what they believe to be the average annual […]

The National Audit Office has claimed that ministers must find 250,000 new school places by 2014 to accommodate a surge in the birth rate. The biggest rise since the baby boom after the second world war means that although the Department for Education has created more than 80,000 places over the past two years, a […]

Ofsted have ruled that three of the first seven free schools championed by Michael Gove are “not good” schools. Each school now faces another full-scale inspection within the next two years. Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “It is dreadful therefore that schools which the Prime Minister and the Education […]

Campaigners have warned that local planning decisions on housing projects in protected areas of the countryside are being overturned by government inspectors using new development laws. Despite promises by ministers to hand more control to communities, campaigners say that decisions by local councils to turn down developments are being routinely overridden by the centralised Planning […]

 An investigation by The Independent newspaper today has claimed that officials from the Department of Education are offering £65,000 “bribes” to convince reluctant headteachers to convert their schools to academies. The incentives are being offered to schools which drop their opposition to academy status. The paper alleges that £40,000 in payments have been offered to […]

The Daily Mail reports that the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, will announce a major climbdown over his plans to scrap GCSEs in favour of a new English Baccalaureate. It says that in a surprise statement in the Commons, Mr Gove will reveal that he is abandoning plans to introduce the new qualification in 2015. Daily […]

Almost £1m (£968,000) will help Year 7 pupils in Lancashire, who didn’t reach the expected level in literacy and maths when they finished primary school, catch up with their classmates who did.  On Thursday schools shoulkd have  received £500 per pupil who didn’t reach the expected level to help them through catch-up classes and individual tuition. Evidence shows only five […]

  Bill Winlow at the junction of Sidgreaves Lane and Lea Road by Lea Endowed School – Bill says “no developments in this area should be allowed to go forward here if they increase the traffic flow at this dangerous junction” We all appreciate that the country is short of housing, but we worry about predatory […]

 I was in London on Wednesday and Thursday of last week for a meeting of Liberal Democrat Councillors at the Local Government Association.  I made the trip at my own expense.  During our meeting we had discussion with several government ministers including Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister as follows:     We were able to […]