Monday
International education champion defends Ofqual over teachers’ grades
Sir Steve Smith writes to international school associations praising the work of schools during the war in the Middle East, and apparently addressing concerns about Ofqual’s refusal to accept teacher-assessed grades
Why FOMO could be key to boosting attendance
Education consultant and former headteacher Rachel Macfarlane explains why creating a sense of adventure in schools can engage pupils and parents more than pleas to attend
Friday
Have schools been put into an attendance trap?
New guidance on communicating with parents about absence leaves schools with the ‘all but impossible’ task of improving attendance without being able to hold families to account, warn leaders
DfE legal costs rise by more than 50% under Labour
Increase in legal costs is likely due to the government introducing contentious policies that have ‘well-funded’ opponents – such as VAT on private school fees, say experts
Thursday
Spare school places hit record high
The number of spare primary and secondary places across England has increased by 15 per cent since 2023-24
5 questions schools need answered on the social media ban
The government has announced that under-16s will be banned from several social media platforms from next spring. But for schools, there are still questions about how this will work
MPs launch inquiry into Labour’s school reform plans
Committee will scrutinise DfE’s teacher recruitment targets and plans to reform accountability measures and narrow the disadvantage gap
Schools self-funding their building work is ‘wholly unrealistic’
NASUWT chief Matt Wrack lists the problems with the idea that schools could hire out facilities to fund essential refurbishment of their buildings
Wednesday
6,500 teacher goal ‘consistent’ with original pledge, Phillipson says
Education secretary faces questions from MPs over the government’s SEND plans, teacher recruitment and curriculum reform
Falling primary rolls will ‘narrow curriculum’, Lords warned
The government must financially support schools and councils to manage demographic upheaval, hears inquiry into the falling number of pupils in primary schools
‘Limited’ evidence for AI tutoring tools, government admits
Google is among eight tech firms awarded a contract to pilot AI tutors, with the DfE planning to roll out the technology to help disadvantaged students
Supply and demand: we need more economics teachers
Economics is now the fifth most popular A-level subject – but access to the qualification is uneven, largely because of a shortage of specialist teachers
