24 February 2021 Ofsted publishes research on the education of pupils living in children's home

Ofsted has published research on the range and quality of the education of pupils living in children's homes; the research was conducted across a sample of 2600 children living in 815 children's homes between April 2018 and March 2019

The key findings are

- Children's home residents are less likely to attend good or outstanding schools

- Around 9% of children in the sample attended unregulated provision

- Children living in children's homes were 18 times more likely to attend a pupil referral unit than all pupils attending state-funded provision nationally

- They were also 20 times more likely to attend special schools than all children nationally

11 February 2021 77 schools selected to run new teaching school hubs

77 schools have been selected to run 81 new teaching school hubs across England, with £65million of funding from the government.  It takes the total number of hubs to 87, with six initial hubs being announced last year

Teaching school hubs will provide professional development for teachers and leaders, as well as supporting trainee teachers.  They will help to deliver the new early career framework of support for new teachers and provide national professional qualifications and initial teacher training

Each of the 81 new hubs will have its own geographical area and begin operating in September.  Four schools have been given funding for two geographical areas, with the remaining 73 running one

5 February 2021 Government launches first phase of school rebuilding programme

The government has launched the first phase of its ten-year school rebuilding programme, with 50 projects being announced

The programme is due to deliver 500 projects over the next decade; the schools include primary, secondary and special ones as well as a sixth form college in West Yorkshire; more than 70% of the schools are in the North and the Midlands

Construction will begin on the first projects from Autumn 2021, with the majority of them being completed within three to five years

The projects will range from replacing or refurbishing individual buildings through to whole school rebuilds; the DfE plans to consult this year on how schools are prioritised for future rounds of the programme 

Additionally, 21 free schools have been announced as part of wave 14; ten are in some of the most deprived areas and three in opportunity areas

More than £10million will also be invested to support school sports and swimming facilities in England, and will be distributed through Sport England