Sharpening the commercial edge
The case for well-managed council commercial activity is one that needs to be defended if we want a mature and sustainable local state, argues Jonathan Werran.
Government announces £16m for virtual school heads programme
17/06/2021 The Government today announced that more than £16m is now available to councils to ensure there is a local champion for children with a social worker in every local authority in England. |
Millions of children attend schools with toxic air, campaigners warn
17/06/2021 Millions of children go to schools where air pollution is above World Health Organization (WHO) limits, new data reveals. |
Government announces £220m fund to support children in school holidays
16/06/2021 Parents are being urged to sign up to a Government programme which aims to ensure children have access to healthy food and activities during the school holidays. |
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award gets £3.4m boost
14/06/2021 The Department for Education has announced a £3.4m funding boost for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in order to help more young people access volunteering and extra-curricular learning. |
Sexual harassment ‘normalised’ for children, Ofsted warns
10/06/2021 Sexual harassment, including online sexual abuse, has become ‘normalised’ for children and young people, Ofsted has found. |
Education recovery tsar resigns over lack of funding
03/06/2021 Sir Kevan Collins has resigned as the Government’s education recovery commissioner after warning the support announced ‘falls far short of what is needed’. |
Government publishes next phase of school catch-up plan
02/06/2021 The Government has pledged to provide up to 100 million hours of free tuition for children and young people across England. |
Making marginal gains
25/05/2021 Ian Nicol explains how making a small change can make a significant difference when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. |
Pandemic has increased attendance inequalities in schools, study finds
25/05/2021 Disadvantaged pupils are the least likely to return to school after lockdown, a new study has revealed. |
Schools to lose £118m for poorer pupils, council chiefs warn
21/05/2021 Funding changes this year could see schools in England lose £118m for disadvantaged pupils, council leaders have warned today. |
Construction of £23m council-funded school for SEND students complete
17/05/2021 Somerset CC has announced that construction has finished on Polden Bower School, a brand new £23m council-funded school for students with complex needs. |
Council chiefs call for review of SEND system to be completed ‘urgently’
14/05/2021 Council leaders have called on Government to ‘urgently complete’ its review of the SEND system and to ensure councils have funding to support SEND children. |
Government told to reconsider plans to stop face mask requirement in school
05/05/2021 Scientists have joined with unions, parents and students to urge Government to reconsider plans to stop requiring children to wear face coverings at school. |
One in three head teachers warn funding for poorer pupils is plugging budget gaps
29/04/2021 A third of head teachers are using funding meant to support disadvantaged pupils to plug general budget gaps, a new survey has revealed. |
Schools given 'try before you buy' offer to become academies
28/04/2021 Schools will be given a 'try before you buy' option to encourage them to leave council control and become part of an academy trust, the education secretary announced today. |
Labour outlines plans for 'catch-up' breakfast clubs
28/04/2021 Labour has urged the Government to launch universal catch-up breakfast clubs to help children bounce back from the pandemic. |
Summer schools programme opens for bids
27/04/2021 Schools are being encouraged to bid for a share of £200m to offer summer schools to help children recover lost learning. |
Schools to share £1.8bn for building repairs
27/04/2021 Funding to repair and maintain schools in England has increased by 20% this year to almost £1.8bn. |
Study to track long-term impact of COVID-19 on year 11 students
26/04/2021 A new study to track the pandemic’s long-term effects on year 11 students in England - particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds - has been launched. |
Charity calls for reform of public sector food sourcing standards
21/04/2021 A charity is calling for a major overhaul of public sector food sourcing standards to protect school children and hospital patients from being served a low welfare menu. |
More children worried about pollution near schools
19/04/2021 Nearly half of children in the UK are worried about air pollution near their school - up from 39% in 2018 - a new survey has revealed. |
Children's Laureate calls for £100m ring-fenced school library fund
13/04/2021 Waterstones Children's Laureate has written an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for a £100m yearly ring-fenced fund for primary schools libraries. |
Ofsted to visit schools facing sexual abuse allegations
08/04/2021 Ofsted has announced it will visit a sample of schools and colleges in England where sexual abuse claims have been made. |
Summer school guidance published
31/03/2021 New guidance for secondary schools to help progress plans for summer schools once they return from the Easter break has been published. |
Schools and hospitals face 'serious disruptions' as PFI contracts end
19/03/2021 Vital public assets such as roads, schools and hospitals will face 'serious disruption' if Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts expire without a plan in place, MPs have warned today. |
Seven million children return to school
17/03/2021 Over seven million children were back in schools and colleges last week as part of the first step in the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. |
Pupils returning to ‘overcrowded’ classrooms, Labour warn
10/03/2021 The number of pupils in class sizes over 31 has increased substantially over the last five years, new research has revealed. |
Schools Streets cutting air pollution, study reveals
09/03/2021 Closing roads around schools at pick-up and drop-off times has reduced air pollution by 23% in London, a new study published by mayor Sadiq Khan has revealed. |
Fire chiefs renew calls to make sprinklers mandatory in schools
08/03/2021 Fire chiefs have renewed calls for mandatory sprinklers in schools as research estimates that 390,000 teaching hours could be lost to large fires this year. |
Multi-million funding boost to increase mental health support in schools
05/03/2021 Nearly three million children in England will have access to mental health teams in their schools, following the allocation of £79m funding. |
Households of school aged children eligible for rapid COVID tests
01/03/2021 All households of school aged children will get two rapid tests per person, per week, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced. |
Johnson announces £700m education recovery funding
24/02/2021 A £700m education recovery package to help students catch up on missed learning has been announced by the Prime Minister. |
First 50 schools chosen for £1bn rebuilding programme
05/02/2021 The first 50 schools to receive £1bn funding under the Government's School Rebuilding Programme have been announced. |
School closures could costs hundreds of billions in lost earnings, study predicts
01/02/2021 The long-run cost of lost schooling could be as much as £350bn, a new study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. |
County may be forced to limit school places during lockdown
07/01/2021 Norfolk County Council has warned it may be forced to prioritise who is given a school place during the new lockdown because of high demand. |
Union calls for nurseries to be closed during lockdown
06/01/2021 Pre-schools including nurseries must be closed except to educate the children of key workers and those who are vulnerable, union says. |
Councils resist pressure to reopen schools
04/01/2021 Scores of councils have raised concerns over the return of primary school pupils to classrooms amid soaring COVID-19 infection rates. |
How schools can combat waste
22/12/2020 Michael Taylor, general manager at Skip Hire UK, looks at how schools can combat waste. |
Two-thirds of COVID-19 school costs not met by Government
22/12/2020 Council chiefs have called on the Government to ensure schools are able to pay the costs of the pandemic as report says current funding levels fall short. |
Every local authority gets school funding boost
18/12/2020 The Government has announced a £2.2bn increase in core funding for schools next year in England. |
Top 100: Our most popular local government stories of 2020
16/12/2020 Although the dispute over council pay caused the most stir in the local government sector this year, the impact of dealing with the pandemic obviously dominated the headlines as well. |
Council chiefs concerned about impact of COVID-19 testing on ‘exhausted’ school staff
16/12/2020 Local authority leaders have raised concerns about the impact of the Government’s plan to roll out coronavirus testing in schools on already overstretched school staff. |
London council ordered to keep schools open
15/12/2020 The Royal Borough of Greenwich has agreed to keep schools open after it was threatened by legal action from the Government. |
Jenrick outlines fast track planning service for public buildings
04/12/2020 Councils will have a legal duty to make decisions on new schools and hospitals within 10 weeks under reforms to the planning system. |
Council criticised after teenager misses start of school
03/12/2020 Surrey County Council has agreed to review its services after a teenager missed the start of the school year because the local authority did not tell his mother she needed to reapply for transport. |
Partnership in SEND provision
30/11/2020 Partnerships are one way of nurturing collaboration and developing high-performing systems within a person-centred context, argues Professor Sandy Toogood. |
COVID-19 school workforce fund launched
30/11/2020 The Government has announced a short-term COVID-19 workforce fund to help keep schools and colleges open during the pandemic. |
Home education increases by nearly 40% due to pandemic
24/11/2020 This year has seen a dramatic increase in the number of children being electively home educated (EHE) due to the impact of COVID-19. |
What the Dickens is going on with broadband in schools?
24/11/2020 Evan Wienburg warns that too many schools don’t have access to the reliable connectivity and ultrafast broadband speeds. |
Head teachers call for funding to support collaboration between schools, academies and councils
18/11/2020 The Government should invest in partnerships between schools, academy trusts and local authorities to drive school improvements in local communities, a new study says. |
Over half of teachers have worked with homeless children, study reveals
18/11/2020 More than half of state teachers (56%) have worked with homeless children in the past three years, a new study has revealed. |
Waltham Forest Council announces five new School Streets schemes
17/11/2020 Waltham Forest Council is announcing a further five new School Streets following air quality monitoring that suggests the scheme has a ‘significant’ impact on NO2 concentrations. |
Councils warn a million young people could be missing full-time education
17/11/2020 ’Significant gaps’ in legislation means more than a million young people in England could be missing formal full-time education, council leaders have warned. |
Derbyshire councils commit to fitting sprinklers in schools
11/11/2020 Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council have both signed a Statement of Intent committing to fit sprinklers and the right fire safety measures in new and refurbished schools. |
Two-thirds of school rated ‘poor’ for fire protection measures
05/11/2020 Two-thirds of schools have ‘poor’ fire protection with 40 schools a month hit by fire last year, a new study has revealed. |
Three key elements can optimise out-of-area placements for children with SEND
14/10/2020 Professor Sandy Toogood explains what features of provision are required when out-of-area residential school placement is needed for children with special educational needs and disabilities. |
Air pollution round schools is impacting learning, research finds
08/10/2020 Reducing air pollution levels by 20% could improve a child’s ability to learn within one month, new research has found. |
Black working-class pupils criminalised by ‘two-tier education system’
29/09/2020 Black working-class young people in England are being unfairly excluded and criminalised by a ‘two-tier education system’, a new report says. |
Government announces £2m to encourage children to cycle and walk
28/09/2020 The Government has announced it will be making £2m available to help encourage children to walk or cycle to school. |
Parents call on councils to improve school air quality
15/09/2020 Parents call on councils to improve air quality as research suggests 50% reduction in pollution could halve number of children?with?poor lung function. |
Third of local areas face secondary school shortage within five years
04/09/2020 A third of local areas in England could run out of secondary school places within five years, new analysis has warned today. |
Schools at double the risk of fire than other buildings, data shows
04/09/2020 School buildings are twice as likely to be in a blaze compared to other non-residential buildings, new research has found. |
A personalised approach holds the key to unlocking our SEND challenge
28/08/2020 Prof. Sandy Toogood argues there is huge opportunity to reframe SEND provision and focus on the importance of a personalised approach. |
Safely into school
27/08/2020 How many plans can be made when it comes to transport to education settings? Liz Davidson reports. |
Psychiatrists call for suspension of fines for children who can’t attend school
26/08/2020 The Royal College of Psychiatrists has called for the suspension of fines for children who can't attend school due to Covid-related anxiety. |
Councils awarded £40m to set up more home-to-school transport
10/08/2020 Local authorities have been given a £40m funding boost to increase home-to-school transport provision from September. |
Closing schools should be the 'last option' says Children's Commissioner
05/08/2020 Schools should be the last place to close and first to re-open in future lockdowns, the Children's Commissioner for England has warned today. |
Fast-tracked funding to improve school buildings
05/08/2020 The Government has fast-tracked £580m of funding to improve school buildings across England. |
Thousands of new school spaces for SEND children
20/07/2020 New special free schools will provide over 3,000 extra places for pupils with the most complex needs. |
Tackling our SEND challenge
14/07/2020 Peter Whitmore explains why collaboration and knowledge sharing are crucial to tackling the SEND challenge. |
Coronavirus could create a ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable teenagers
07/07/2020 Thousands of vulnerable teenagers are at risk of falling through gaps in the school and social care systems, the Children’s Commissioner for England has warned today. |
Johnson launches planning reforms to help 'build, build, build'
30/06/2020 Boris Johnson is expected to bring forward £5bn of investment in hospitals, roads and schools later today. |
Leicester locks down after surge in coronavirus
30/06/2020 England’s first local lockdown will begin in Leicester this week in a bid to combat a surge in COVID-19 cases. |
Johnson announces £1bn school building programme
29/06/2020 Prime minister Boris Johnson has committed £1bn to build 50 new schools over the next ten years. |
Council chiefs welcome £1bn Covid school ‘catch up’ package
19/06/2020 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Government’s announcement of a £1bn Covid ‘catch up’ package to tackle the impact of lost teaching time. |
Teachers call for summer holiday offer to support children
19/06/2020 Teachers have urged the Government to fund councils to help them provide summer activities for children in preparation for a return to school in September. |
Paediatricians urge PM to make school reopenings ‘a priority’
18/06/2020 Over 1,500 paediatricians have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister urging him to make the reopening of schools a priority. |
Schools using 'professional judgement' on reopening, union finds
04/06/2020 Just over a third of schools (35%) opened on the terms expected by the prime minister on 1 June, a union has found. |
Councils urged to create ‘school streets’
29/05/2020 Councils have been urged to close roads to cars during school pick up and drop off times to make journeys safer and manage social distancing at the school gates by ten NGOs. |
Social workers to be placed in schools to spot children at risk
22/05/2020 The Government has committed £6.5m to place social workers in schools to help spot the signs of child abuse and neglect. |
More councils join call to delay schools reopening
20/05/2020 The Government is under increasing pressure to rethink its plans to open schools on 1 June after more councils highlighted safety concerns. |
Councils decide against re-opening schools
19/05/2020 Hundreds of schools will not re-open next week as councils express concern over the safety of pupils and teachers. |
Councils call for power to close schools at higher risk of Covid-19
15/05/2020 Council leaders have called for the power to close schools or nurseries that have new clusters of Covid-19. |
MPs tell department to 'get a grip' on SEND
05/05/2020 The Department for Education (DfE) does not have a grip on mounting pressure in the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system, a watchdog has found. |
Schools minister outlines funding for school estate
23/04/2020 The Government has confirmed £2.2bn of capital funding will be provided to improve the condition of the school estate and create new school places. |
Councils call for suspension of academy conversions during Covid-19 crisis
14/04/2020 Council leaders have warned the time and resources being spent on converting schools into academies is undermining efforts to provide enough school places for children during the Covid-19 crisis. |
Study questions impact of closing schools to contain coronavirus
08/04/2020 School closures have not had a ‘significant effect’ on preventing the spread of coronavirus, a new study has revealed. |
Report highlights complex nature of safeguarding in residential schools
03/04/2020 New research has revealed the unique challenges staff in residential schools face to protect children from sexual abuse. |
Schools shut down to stop spread of Covid-19
19/03/2020 All schools, colleges and early years settings will be closed as of next week as part of the effort to contain the Coronavirus pandemic. |
Schools exclude pupils to ‘game’ league table, report reveals
16/03/2020 A new study has uncovered an ‘alarming’ trend of schools excluding pupils to boost their league table standings and warned of a flawed system of incentives in the education sector. |
Cost of school uniforms pushing some families into debt
13/03/2020 Councils have urged schools to take a 'common-sense' approach to the cost of uniforms, after parents warned this was affecting their choice of school. |
Councils and teachers call for over £5bn of extra school funding
05/03/2020 Local authorities, parents and teachers have joined forces to call on the Government to increase school funding by £5.5bn. |
Consultation on dedicated school leaders launched
25/02/2020 The Government today launched a consultation on plans to place a dedicated school leader in every school to help vulnerable children achieve more and ensure they attend lessons. |
Financial pressures ‘biggest concern’ of school leaders
24/02/2020 A majority of school leaders who responded to Ofsted inspectors have warned that financial pressures are their ‘biggest concern’. |
Number of schools commissioning mental health support ‘doubles’
03/02/2020 The number of schools commissioning professional help for children’s mental health issues has almost doubled in the last four years, a survey has revealed. |
Funding per pupil to ‘increase’, PM says
30/01/2020 Councils will be required by law to make sure every school receives the full amount of the minimum levels of funding pledged for each pupil, PM announces. |
Councils sent back to drawing board on SEND
28/01/2020 Councils have been sent back to the drawing board after a quango ripped apart their plans to recover massive special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficits. |
Government announces £2.4m ‘boost’ to improve sports teaching
27/01/2020 Schools are set to receive a £1.6m funding boost that will help them provide more sports activities to pupils after school and during the holidays. |
Councils warned to cover foster carers’ school transport costs
17/01/2020 Councils have been reminded by the local government ombudsman that they should be providing financial support to foster parents to pay for school transport. |
Medway caves after Ombudsman rap
16/01/2020 Medway Council has finally accepted the recommendations in a Local Government Ombudsman public interest report after a two-year stand-off. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
