Personal news klaxon! As I embark on my 3rd decade as a journalist & comms expert, it's time to return to being my own boss. It's been a huge honour to lead the extraordinary @tes news team alongside @CharlotteSantry & I'm extremely proud of our achievements over the past 4.5yrs

After taking a short break, I'll be sharing more about what's in the pipeline for me on here and on LinkedIn here https://t.co/5d2xafCsVf /ends.

Huge thanks to those in the sector who supported me taking on a news desk during a hugely tumultuous time for schools inc @AlisonMPeacock @McBreartySinead @RealGeoffBarton @PaulWhiteman6 @jonathansimons and many more (some who've left this place!).. 5/6

And I can't wait to see what the current team—@cerysturner7 and @jasminenorden—who are already smashing it—does next, under the expert stewardship of Charlotte and deputy news ed @JohnGRoberts and the tirelessly brilliant leadership of @jon_severs and his award-winning team. 4/6

..& it's been an enormous privilege to see young @tes news reporters develop investigative skills needed to uncover crucially important stories for schools & education policy, before going on to hone them on the broader political stage,inc @matilda__martin and @tweetsbyames 3/6

The experience of supporting the team, including ex news ed @willstewartnews , to run a vital news service - at times 24/7- for school leaders & teachers during the Covid pandemic (which struck 2 weeks after I joined) will endure as one of the proudest periods of my career.. 2/6

Excl: Ofsted's governance needs urgent renewal, according to Alternative Big Listen authors @franknorris & @colinsparkbridg They are calling for more openness in board appointments, as well as changes to how chief inspectors are selected 🔍 https://t.co/OmIboMxtvF

New this morning: Trust capacity funding has been cut with no plans currently for future rounds

The gloves are off....

🚨 Legal action launched against govt's VAT policy @ISC_schools, which represents over 1,400 private schools, will be taking legal action against the government's policy to charge VAT on private school fees. More to follow... https://t.co/b7eoYtQg8r

BREAKING: @ISC_schools is launching legal action against the government’s policy to place VAT on private school fees https://t.co/mRqAoFIhwr

Our understanding on National Insurance is leaders have been told it will cover the 'net effect' of rise for schools - @julia_harnden says sector will need to see detail of how money is allocated to see “whether costs will be fully covered in every case"

Tes understands public sector bodies, including schools, will get 'additional funding' to help with rise in employer National Insurance contributions

I couldn't be more proud of this wonderfully talented journalist.....although her success has v little do with me of course. She is a true star of her generation and I feel extremely lucky to have worked with her and watched her grow over the past three years @tes

The future of primary schools within the multi-academy trust sector is under question as findings shared with @tes reveal financial reserves are five times lower at all-primary trusts than those with no primaries https://t.co/ePbVI030ws

Oak funding set to be lower from next year as DfE bids to end legal action against it by @besatweet and others. Extraordinary exclusive from @tes junior reporter @cerysturner7 👇

I’m at Conservative Party Conference covering all things education for @tes (a bit less busy than Labour, but far more sandwich options...) #CPC24

When independent schools complain about VAT being added to fees, no-one is really surprised. When two of the big teaching unions warn of unintended consequences such as mid-year job cuts, it's harder to ignore.

Heads' and teachers' leaders have called for a delay to the launch of the flagship Labour VAT levy on private school fees policy until next September, warning it could lead to redundancies and a "permanent loss" of teachers

The amount of 'emergency' cash given to MATs to help struggling schools outside of their trust has surged this year, a @tes investigation has revealed