Irwin Mitchell | IM Educate Briefing | News in brief

10 education statistics from 2018 that will make your eyes water

The TES has looked back over another whirlwind year of education news and analysis to find you the most concerning statistics of 2018. These look at the number of teachers planning to stay in the profession and the effect of Brexit on student motivation and parental attitudes.

Ofsted Inspectorate says the DfE’s academies plan will fail without more good sponsors

Ofsted’s annual report has warned that the “halfway house” approach to academisation hasn’t worked, and that cash incentives must be restored to persuade more good schools to run multi-academy trusts (MATs). The report also states that there has been a marked increase in the proportion of general FE colleges judged good or outstanding at inspection this year.

Top academy chain accused of “cheating” Ofsted inspections at multiple schools

According to the Huffington Post, one of the country’s top-performing chains of academy schools has been accused of “systemic cheating” during Ofsted inspections at a number of its primaries. Concerned teachers and a governor have made serious allegations that the renowned Harris Federation, which runs 47 schools in and around London, is “gaming the system” during Ofsted inspections at more than one of its schools.

Only one in five organisations has a plan to fix their gender pay gap

A report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Closing the gender pay gap, has revealed significant shortcomings of the gender pay gap reporting regime. Analysing 440 gender pay gap reports from a variety of sectors, the EHRC found that only around 20% of employers had produced an identifiable action plan in their gender pay gap report that was time-bound and included target-driven activities. The report provides guidance to help organisations reduce the gap and set measurable targets.

Number of employment tribunal claims increases again

The Ministry of Justice has published the employment tribunal quarterly statistics for the period July to September 2018. During this period the number of single claims issued increased by 13% compared to the same quarter of 2017. Employment Tribunal fees were abolished on 26 July 2017, and since then there has been a significant increase in the numbers of claims submitted. As these figures include the month of July 2017 (when fees were still in place), we’ll have to wait for the next set of quarterly statistics to see if claims continue to rise.

Government responds to Women and Equalities Select Committee report on sexual harassment in the workplace

The government has announced 12 broad action points in response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee's report on sexual harassment in the workplace. These include:

• Introducing a statutory Code of Practice on sexual harassment that employers must follow

• Consulting on how to protect staff from third-party harassment where the employer knows staff are at risk

• Extending protection against harassment to volunteers and interns

• Working with Acas, the EHRC and employers to raise awareness of appropriate workplace behaviours and individual rights

• Considering regulating the use of non disclosure agreements to prevent abuse.

There are no firm timescales for any of the announced measures, and further consultations will take place.

New guide from ICO on Data Protection

The Information Commissioner's Office has published a Guide to Data Protection which covers the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It’s split into five main sections:

• Introduction to data protection

• Guide to GDPR

• Guide to Law Enforcement processing

• Guide to Intelligence Services processing

• Key data protection themes.

Ofsted wins Court of Appeal case against Durand Academy

The Court of Appeal found there are “sufficient protections” to ensure that Ofsted's complaints procedures are unfair in serious weakness/special measures cases.

The Durand Academy, which ran a school in south London and one in West Sussex, was found to be “inadequate” in 2017. It claimed it was unable to effectively challenge the report on its performance under the watchdog's complaints process and was initially successful.

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News in brief – January 2019

10 education statistics from 2018 that will make your eyes water

Ofsted Inspectorate says the DfE’s academies plan will fail without more good sponsors

Top academy chain accused of “cheating” Ofsted inspections at multiple schools

Only one in five organisations has a plan to fix their gender pay gap

Number of employment tribunal claims increases again

Government responds to Women and Equalities Select Committee report on sexual harassment in the workplace

New guide from ICO on Data Protection

Ofsted wins Court of Appeal case against Durand Academy

For general enquiries

About Irwin Mitchell

Contact Us

Get a call back

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News in brief – January 2019

10 education statistics from 2018 that will make your eyes water

Ofsted Inspectorate says the DfE’s academies plan will fail without more good sponsors

Top academy chain accused of “cheating” Ofsted inspections at multiple schools

Only one in five organisations has a plan to fix their gender pay gap

Number of employment tribunal claims increases again

Government responds to Women and Equalities Select Committee report on sexual harassment in the workplace

New guide from ICO on Data Protection

Ofsted wins Court of Appeal case against Durand Academy

For general enquiries

About Irwin Mitchell

Contact Us

Get a call back