Education news, articles and events of the week: archive
9 January
Inclusion
Opinion: 3 ways the White Paper could fix the EHCP system
Why a tiered system for education, health and care plans would radically improve support – and two other core ideas the government could use to solve the SEND crisis.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Opinion: Why we should be optimistic about SEND in 2026
There is much riding on the government’s upcoming White Paper, but the sector has already shown great innovation in a system designed not to be inclusive, writes Margaret Mulholland.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Opinion: Forget the buzzword bingo, here’s how schools can get belonging right
Children show us belonging is simple. If we see them, hear them, know them and accept them for who they are, everything changes.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
DfEDepartment for Education - a ministerial department responsible for children’s services and education in England wants ‘ladder of support’ for pupils with SEND
Speaking about the government’s upcoming SEND reforms, the schools minister says mainstream and special schools will need to work more closely together.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
SEND roadshow sessions ‘have shaped our thinking’, insists Gould
Accountability and better support for parents have been “consistent themes” emerging from SEND “conversations”, the schools minister told Schools Week as she assured the sector that feedback would be reflected in upcoming reforms.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Tech
ESS SIMS loses market dominance for school information systems
ESS SIMS once ruled the school management information system market in England but it has now been overtaken by competitor Arbor, figures show.
Ofcom makes ‘urgent contact’ with X over concerns Grok AI can generate ‘sexualised images of children’
Elon Musk has said “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”.
Generation AI: fears of ‘social divide’ unless all children learn computing skills
Children are growing up as AI natives and experts say computing skills should be on par with reading and writing.
DfE plans to use AI to help answer your emails
The Department for EducationThe ministerial department responsible for children’s services and education in England (DfE) could soon use artificial intelligence to draft responses to as much as 80 per cent of its external correspondence.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-
Curriculum & qualifications
Young people can’t choose the pathways they can’t see
Despite the efforts of the Baker Clause, apprenticeships remain a mystery to students, parents and society in general.
https://feweek.co.uk/young-
New GCSE results app to be rolled out nationwide
It follows a pilot where just six per cent of invited schools and colleges took part, but ministers hope it will save £30m.
https://feweek.co.uk/new-gcse-
November resits: Upturn in English GSCE pass rate
But maths resit pass rate drops slightly and widens in older age groups.
https://feweek.co.uk/november-
Early years
Schools’ growing role as childcare providers revealed
DfE research shows that school-based day nurseries are on the rise, and that schools have the most qualified staff for childcare.
Exclusion
InclusionAn approach where a school aims to ensure that all children are educated together, with support for those who require it to access the full curriculum and contribute to and participate in all aspects of school life drive seeks to cut suspensions and room removals
Charity seeks 10 schools to take part in a three-year, funded programme focusing on internal provision and inclusion.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Behaviour
Schools want help in ‘lonely battle’ against vapes
Teenagers in hospital, thousands of pounds spent on e-cigarette detectors and addicted students hiding in toilets – just some of the challenges schools are facing in what has been described as a “public health emergency”.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Teachers strike at two Greater Manchester primary schools over ‘culture of violence’
NASUWT members at Ravensfield and Lily Lane schools say nine-day stoppage follows ‘almost daily’ attacks by pupils.
Ofsted
OfstedThe Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills – a non-ministerial department responsible for inspecting and regulating services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills: Heads need to ‘think carefully’ about phones in schools
But Sir Martyn Oliver stops short of agreeing that inspectors should fail a school on safeguarding if students are seen with phones, in letter seen by Tes.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Ofsted MATMulti-academy trust - a group of schools working in collaboration, governed by a single set of members and directors inspections could begin in 2027
New legislation will also give DfE new intervention powers to ‘step in’ when trusts don’t meet standards.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Policy
Opinion: The White Paper is a make-or-break moment for Labour
The long wait for Labour’s schools policy document has ramped up the pressure – and the stakes are high, writes Sam Freedman.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
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19 December
Teacher retention and recruitment
5 key points from experts on tackling teacher crisis
Experts have told MPs the government’s 6,500 teacher pledge must take quality and location of recruits into account.
How else could the government improve teacher numbers?
NASBTT chief executive Emma Hollis reveals insights from teacher training providers on how to build on the small but encouraging progress in the latest recruitment data.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Inclusion
Identifying inclusion: Lessons for Labour from councils, charities and the sector
The government wants a more inclusive school system.
Scotland: Impact of huge rise in ASN numbers highlighted by teachers
Teachers ‘struggle to deal with the diverse demands placed upon them’, warns EIS union as it points to the stress and workload associated with additional support needs.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Empty churches could be used for pupils with SEND, says Reform
A working group on tackling the SEND crisis is launched by Reform UK, to be led by former DfE minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
‘Static’ SEND funding puts support at risk, heads warn
Government announces that the use of its national formula for allocating high-needs funding for councils will be paused ahead of its planned reforms to the SEND system.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Do we need better initial teacher trainingAbbreviated to ITT, the period of academic study and time in school leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) on SEND?
‘Better training’ is often cited as the first step in improving inclusive practice in schools, but this might not be the simple fix it seems, as Margaret Mulholland explains.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Sats scores are still below pre-Covid levels – is this the reason why?
While overall Sats scores have been creeping upwards, a significant – and growing – minority of children are deemed unable to sit the tests.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
SEND: Opening resource bases ‘risks making you a magnet school’
With the government wanting mainstream schools to open specialist provision, heads warn that this can lead to increased pressures from parents and other schools.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Equalities
Violence against women and girls strategy: Everything schools need to know
Three new £11m training and support programmes for schools in strategy to ‘stamp out misogyny and keep girls safe’.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Boys to learn difference between porn and real life in bid to tackle misogyny in schools
Teachers to be given extra training as Keir Starmer warns ‘toxic ideas are taking hold early and going unchallenged’.
Teachers in England face growing misogyny and need help dealing with sexual aggression, says Phillips
Comments from safeguarding minister come as violence against women and girls strategy due to launch.
UK government strategy to protect women and girls from violence ‘seriously underfunded’
Campaigners welcome plans but say poor funding means Labour’s ambitions unlikely to be met.
Schools can’t stop violence against girls on their own
Misogyny takes hold beyond the school gates – so it’s essential that the new government strategy does not expect education to solve this social issue alone, writes the Schools Consent Project’s Luke Ramsden.
Badenoch accused of making ‘deeply inaccurate’ claims about violence against women
Tory leader says Labour should focus on migrants ‘from cultures that don’t respect women’ rather than tackling misogyny in schools
Disadvantage
Alan Milburn launches major UK review into rising economic inactivity among young people
Report to highlight ‘uncomfortable truths’ and could recommend ‘radical change’, former health secretary says.
More than half of teachers are working with pupils who are homeless
‘Years without a stable home has made it hard for him to focus on school’.
Pupils in crowded and damp homes miss more school, study finds
Poor-quality housing affects educational outcomes as well as health, UCL research shows.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Curriculum & qualifications
Exam board Pearson fined £2m for ‘serious’ breaches in standards
Ofqual issues fines over English proficiency test that some candidates sat at home, A-level Chinese and GCSE English.
What Ofqual’s new exam data reveals about grading errors
New Ofqual data on the number of GCSE and A-level marks changed on review after the summer 2025 exams provides more clarity on the accuracy of marking, explains Dennis Sherwood.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Chemistry curriculum fails to reflect digital reality, RSC warns
Students are completing time-consuming tasks by hand, whereas professional scientists use advanced tools such as AI and machine learning, says Royal Society of Chemistry.
Tech
Warning of ‘cognitive decline’ if schools miss out on AI development
England’s biggest education union voices fears following the announcement that a Google subsidiary is looking to adapt its chatbot for use in schools.
App blocking social media trialed in schools having positive impact on pupils’ behaviour
An app that blocks out social media that has been trialled in several schools in England has been credited with improving pupils’ behaviour.
Behaviour
DfE issues guidance on use of restraint in schools
School staff have a ‘legal power’ to use ‘reasonable force’ to prevent students from causing injury, damage or disorder, or committing a crime, updated DfE guidance says.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Pupil engagement
Pupils told us how school feels. Now we must act on what they say
The Department for Education’s newly published pupil experience data should stop all of us in our tracks.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
UK to rejoin EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme
British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say.
https://www.theguardian.com/
Thrillers should be on UK school curriculum to boost reading, says Lee Child
Bestselling thriller-writer says focus on ‘masterpieces’ puts children off as he promotes prison literacy scheme. He’s probably not wrong.
https://www.theguardian.com/
Funding
No extra funding for teacher pay, Treasury confirms
Treasury says the DfE must fund any teacher pay award from its existing budget, with no additional money being provided beyond spending review settlements.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
School insurance costs to rise by up to 3 times inflation
The DfE’s risk protection arrangement will increase to £29 per pupil from April 2026, up more than 7 per cent on 2025.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
SEND deficit support ‘not unlimited’ as funding review pledged
Support given to councils will be ‘linked to assurance’ they are moving towards an inclusive education system.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Parents
Underfunding parents’ biggest issue as 2 in 5 asked to contribute to schools’ costs
ASCL warns rate of contributions a ‘sign of challenging financial environments’ facing schools.
Huge rise in parent complaints driven by AI, headteachers warn
Heads say they ‘aren’t sleeping’ due to the stress brought about by AI-generated complaints – but experts warn its a symptom of a wider problem.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Politics
Why ‘rage bait’ is an apt word to describe 2025
From AI attendance targets to more mandatory tests, the DfE has not made it easy for schools to remain calm amid so many demands – and 2026 may not be any better, says Pepe Di’Iasio.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
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12 December
Teacher retention and recruitment
A little flexibility would help teachers no end
Lindsay Patience’s letters (to Guardian and Telegraph) have been causing quite the stir. She says small tweaks to lighten teachers’ workloads (such as off-site PPA) are easy to implement and don’t cost much.
https://www.theguardian.com/
‘Bring it on!’: growing support in England for four-day week in schools
Why proposals from the 4 Day Week Foundation for a shorter working week are winning over teachers and parents – despite the logistical headaches.
Getting more new teachers is great – but keeping them is the real goal
While the rise in applications for teacher training is welcome, schools can only thrive if experienced staff remain in the profession, writes Sarah Mullin.
SEND
Schools lack resources to keep pupils with SEND – Ofsted
Report reveals inconsistent support for pupils with SEND who are out of school and at risk of leaving.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Committee chair criticises DfE response to SEND report
Helen Hayes says government must provide a ‘much more detailed response’ in the new year.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
£3bn announced to create ‘tens of thousands’ of school places for Send pupils
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the Government will make sure local schools are the right schools for children and young people with Send.
Equalities
Schoolboys to be target of UK’s violence against women strategy
Changing attitudes among boys and young men will be at the centre of the government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, the BBC has been told.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Disadvantage
Income data to replace free school meals as trigger for disadvantage funding
Government ‘will design new model’ for allocating the pupil premiumAdditional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and other disadvantage cash. Apparently, it is not intended to be a cost cutting exercise.
The child poverty strategy supports schools to focus on teaching
Opinion: The government’s child poverty strategy signals a shift towards a system where schools no longer have the added responsibility of addressing disadvantage, says MAT CEO Dawn Haywood.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Curriculum & qualifications
Ofqual: On-screen exams could be introduced by 2030
Ofqual says exam boards can submit proposals for two on-screen specifications for lower entry subjects. They’re starting small to make potentially huge changes.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Why the curriculum review’s take on knowledge may change how you teach
It’s Young vs Hirsch in the new curriculum – ‘powerful knowledge’ vs ‘cultural literacy’, and it could make a big difference.
AI
How AI boosts our pupil premium funding, saves time and helps learning
A Trust leader’s approach to AI. Tom Campbell argues government must develop a sector-wide strategy.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
AI has entered the classroom – but is it the solution for overworked teachers?
Schools across the UK are trialling the use of deepfake teachers and even employing remote staff to deliver lessons hundreds of miles away from the classroom.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Behaviour
‘Rigid’ behaviour policies under fire in safeguarding review
‘Zero-tolerance’ discipline risks harming vulnerable students at Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, finds independent report.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Ofsted
Good might not be good enough under new Ofsted framework
A MAT CEO gives his take on Ofsted inspection under the new framework: the system is clearer and fairer, but hard work is needed to attain ‘expected standard’ says Stuart Gardner.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
Ofsted inspections: 5 changes MATs want to see
With the new Ofsted inspections underway, CST deputy chief Steve Rollett reflects on trusts’ experiences so far and explains why many schools may be disappointed with their new gradings.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Ofsted and DfE warned of grade shift in new inspections
Inspectorate and government warned they need to mitigate against risk that the move to new inspection framework will ‘inadvertently’ look like a decline in standards.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Pupil absence
The impact anxiety is having on school attendances
Anxiety is on the increase, according to a poll commissioned by a virtual school. Teaching unions have been calling for more investment in mental health services to help tackle the absence crisis.
Funding
‘Nightmare before Christmas’: 46 free school projects scrapped and 58 special schools in limbo
DfE to divert cash to councils to create places instead as leaders question decision to can ‘ready to go’ projects.
Can per-pupil funding keep schools afloat as rolls plummet?
Demographic decline is squeezing school budgets and forcing political choices. Is it time to rethink the way schools are funded?
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Politics
Why England only needs 400 academy trusts
Does England have too many Trusts?
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
4 ways Labour can show vision with its Schools White Paper
Opinion: Aside from much-needed SEND plans, Joe Hallgarten sets out some policies for the White Paper that would demonstrate Labour’s commitment to true system reform in education.
https://www.tes.com/magazine/
Britain slipping down global league table for youth employment, says report
PwC warns that future of a generation is at risk and that jobs crisis is costing UK economy up to £26bn a year.
Four things we learnt from government data this week
Nearly 18% of council run schools in England are in deficit. And other things we learnt.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
People
Russell Hobby to become Labour peer – but will remain as trust CEO
Former NAHT and Teach First leader plans to continue to lead TKAT while serving in House of Lords.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/
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