Category Archives: Tips and How-Tos

How to: find out about pupil place shortages in local schools

TweetIn some places of the UK primary school pupils are expected to rise by up to a fifth in the next few years, with new funding announced this week to help local authorities cope with the rise. But if you … Continue reading

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Students’ parents don’t know they have credit cards – and other “truths” about student spending

Tweet How do students spend their money? Are they careful? Do they lie about it to their parents? What about the dreaded overdraft? An infographic (shown below) created by ZenithOptimedia and Natwest has revealed how young adults spend their money … Continue reading

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Tip: finding leads in university council minutes

TweetThe minutes of meetings at public institutions are an often-overlooked source of possible story ideas and leads. Local authorities and hospitals regularly have their board meetings scrutinised by reporters – but university council meetings are less closely followed.

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When is a leak not a leak: An investigation into children’s home data

Tweet While working on a story relating to children’s care homes, Beth Ashton stumbled across some data that shouldn’t have been public. What she did next illustrates the ethical and legal issues facing journalists and public bodies dealing with sensitive subjects. A few … Continue reading

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What information do universities record – and what might be requested?

TweetTimes Higher Education reporter David Matthews wrote about “stumbling blocks” to university transparency this month – and in the process highlighted some useful tips for those wanting to investigate higher education. Here are the highlights: Who makes the decisions? Most … Continue reading

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Do you want to join the HMI Education team?

TweetAs explained earlier, we’re creating some new roles at HMI Education. If you’re interested in getting involved there’s no minimum or maximum commitment needed just a passion to help investigate and improve the UK’s education system. You may have an idea for … Continue reading

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New investigations, new data and new roles at Help Me Investigate

TweetHelp Me Investigate Education has a new team of editors, brand new investigations – and lots of ideas for new ones. We’re also looking for new contributors to get involved with the website.

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Academies and the Freedom of Information Act

TweetThe number of academies in the UK is increasing by the month and their set-up can often be complex, with multiple parties involved in the running of the school, but the Freedom of Information Act provides a useful tool to … Continue reading

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School food hygiene ratings: how to find them in your area

TweetWith food hygiene in the news following the horsemeat scandal, I thought I’d put together a quick guide on getting information about your own local schools’ hygiene ratings. You can download FSA ratings of food hygiene for each local authority. … Continue reading

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University Governance deconstructed… then constructed again…

TweetIf something has a Wikipedia entry that’s difficult to understand, it’s bound to be an intricate, complex, and rarely explained subject. University governance is one of those subjects. Rarely looked into, examined or explained, (outside of academia at least) the … Continue reading

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Data: BBC reveals locations of proposed new primary school academies

TweetBBC Radio 4’s The Report has done a nice bit of investigative journalism and revealed “the locations of 173 English primary schools the government wants to convert into academies.” Here’s the data The Report collected. The full report will air tonight, 16 February, … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Tips on investigating education from Fiona Millar

TweetFiona Millar is an experienced journalist and campaigner who publishes The Truth About Our Schools, a website and blog covering the education sector. I met up with Fiona to ask what advice she would give to people wanting to investigate … Continue reading

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