One-word Ofsted ratings for schools are to be scrapped with immediate effect, the Government has announced.
In an aim to boost school standards and increase transparency for parents, theDepartment for Education (DfE) has confirmed this week that its education standards board will cease to use single-headline grades for schools, as believes they are “reductive” and fail to provide a “fair and accurate assessment of overall school performance” across a range of areas.
According to the Government, Ofsted one-word ratings are currently only supported by a minority of parents and teachers anyway.
So, what does this mean for the future of Ofsted inspections then?
Well, for inspections that are due to take place this academic year, parents will see four grades across the existing sub-categories, which are: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, but these grades will not be condensed into a single one-word rating.
ADVERTISEMENT
Single headline grades are low value for parents and high stakes for schools.
Parents expect high standards for their children. We will give them clearer and broader information about schools, to help them make the right choice for their child. pic.twitter.com/pcNMAAUD72
The Government will, however, continue to intervene in poorly-performing schools to ensure there are still high school standards for children.
Where schools are identified as struggling, the Government will prioritise getting plans in place for them to improve the education and experience of children “rapidly”, rather than relying purely on changing schools’ management.
ADVERTISEMENT
Then, from early 2025, the Government will also introduce ‘Regional Improvement Teams’ that will work with struggling schools to “quickly and directly address” areas of weakness.
This reform is said to be “paving the way” for the introduction of the new ‘School Report Cards’ from September of next year – which will provide parents with a full and comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing, and ensure that inspections are more effective in driving improvement.
Recent data shows that reports cards are supported by 77% of parents.
ADVERTISEMENT
High school students raising their hands in a classroom / Credit: gov.uk
“The need for Ofsted reform to drive high and rising standards for all our children in every school is overwhelmingly clear,” explained Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, as the announcement was made this week.
“The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents, and teachers.
“Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools.
“Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – and that’s what our report cards will provide.”
🚨 NEW: We’re scrapping single headline Ofsted judgements with immediate effect.
Ofsted judgements have been high stakes for schools, low information for parents.
We’ll:
✅ Give parents more transparency ✅ Drive high & rising standards ✅ Pave the way for school report cards
The change to scrap one-word ratings will apparently work to delivering the Government’s mission to “break down barriers to opportunity” and also demonstrates Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s commitment to “improve the life chances” of young people across the country.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This Government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement,” the Education Secretary concluded.
Neil Young U-turns on Glastonbury drop-out after being confirmed as festival headliner
Danny Jones
Barely a beat or two after having seemingly dropped out of the festival, Neil Young has now U-turned on Glastonbury 2025 and now looks set to be headlining it.
Thelegendary musician called out the world-renowned music festival for being under “corporate” control at the whim of the BBC (its official media and broadcasting partner for nearly 30 years) and said he would no longer be playing his slot.
Young went so far as to call it a “corporate turn-off”, claiming the event is “not how I remember it” in a message on his website.
However, just a few days after posting the news, it now appears as though the Canadian singer-songwriter will still be playing Glastonbury – and not just as one of the multiple legends lined up for 2025 either, but as a headliner.
Neil Young is now seemingly headlining Glastonbury 2025. (Credit: Screenshot via Neil Young Archives)
As you can see in the update shared on Friday, 3 January, the 79-year-old now claims there was an “error” in the information he received regarding his performance at the festival.
Having now cleared up whatever confusion occurred, he and his band the Chrome Hearts will in fact be playing the festival as planned, reiterating his long-lasting love for the festival.
Quite a far cry from the sentiment he seemed to be getting across in his previous post, but make of that what you will.
Furthermore, chief organiser Emily Eavis – whose parents Michael and Jean Eavis set up the first ever Glastonbury music festival back in 1970 – not only hopped on social media to confirm that ‘Shakey’ will be performing but that he will be headline the main Pyramid Stage.
“Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury”, she wrote, adding: “He does things his own way and that’s why we love him.”
So has he been given a slot upgrade of sorts or what? It still remains a little unclear.
At present, Rod Stewart is set to play the iconic and outright ‘Legends’ slot during Sunday teatime this June. We likely won’t hear much else about the rest of the lineup until sometime in spring.
This, of course, isn’t the first time Neil Young has done a 180 following a well-publicised decision in protest against a big media company.
The music veteran famously removed all of his discography from Spotify for two years before it eventually reappeared back in March 2024.
As for whatever happened between him and the festival or whether this was some gamesmanship from the influential music icon, at the end of the day, he’s heading to Worthy Farm after all.
Met Office issues double Amber weather warning for snow in Greater Manchester
Daisy Jackson
The Met Office has slapped TWO Amber weather warnings across Greater Manchester with snow and ice forecast to be on the way.
The weather service said predicted that snow and freezing rain over the weekend are likely to lead to disruption, including possible power cuts, transport delays and road closures.
There is currently an Amber weather warning for snow covering an area from Newcastle all the way down to Greater Manchester.
And there’s a separate Amber warning for snow and ice which covers everywhere from Cardiff up to Greater Manchester.
It means that our city is currently under three separate weather warnings across the UK, according to the Met Office.
The warnings for snow and ice are in place from 6pm on Saturday until midday on Sunday, while the warning for just snow begins on Saturday at 9pm and doesn’t end until Sunday at midnight.
According to the Greater Manchester weather forecast, we are likely to see heavy snow showers overnight on Saturday and into Sunday morning.
Though in typical Manchester fashion, there’s then heavy rain forecast on Sunday afternoon which may melt any snow that does fall.
Amber severe weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued for parts of England and Wales this weekend with up to 30-40cm of snow possible in parts of Northern England.
The Met Office said: “Snow will become persistent and locally heavy as it pushes south to north across the warning area. As well as snow, a period of freezing rain is also likely bringing some hazardous travel conditions, before milder air follows across all areas by Sunday morning.
“Whilst there is some uncertainty in details, 3-7 cm of snow is likely for much of the warning area, with locally 15-30 cm for the higher ground of Wales and the southern Pennines. Freezing rain could lead to ice accretion in places, especially parts of Wales, before the milder air leads to a rapid thaw of snow and ice in the south of the warning area through Sunday.
“It is safer not to drive in these conditions, but if you need to make an essential journey, consider alternative forms of transport, to keep you and others safe. If you must drive, do this more safely by: using dipped headlights; accelerating gently, using low revs and changing to higher gears as quickly as possible; starting in second gear to help with wheel slip; maintaining a safe and steady speed, keeping distance from other vehicles; using a low gear to go downhill, avoiding braking unless necessary; steering into skids, not taking your hands of the wheel, and avoiding slamming on brakes.
“People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.
“If isolated due to snow or ice, follow these simple steps to keep safe and well: keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night; turn off electrical heaters and put out your fire before going to bed; ensure pets are safe by keeping them warm and comfortable; prevent frozen pipes by opening kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing; stay indoors, wrap up warm and close internal doors to keep the heat in; and, if you need support call the British Red Cross Support Line on 0808 196 3651.
“Help to protect vulnerable people that you know including older people, those with underlying conditions and those who live alone; they may need support with food and medical supplies. If you are worried about your health or that of somebody you know, ring NHS 111.”
Emily Sergeant -
2nd September 2024 
