Thursday
Are free meals for all good use of funding, ask MSPs
The Scottish government has been urged to evaluate the impact of rolling out free school meals to all primary pupils at a time when funding is stretched
Pension rise may be too much for many private schools
Independent Schools Council chief Julie Robinson outlines why many private schools face a financial storm that they may not be able to weather
Monday
DfE school hardship fund a ‘sticking plaster’
Union leaders and special schools warn extra funding announced to support teacher pay increase will not be sufficient
Oak to get ‘up to £2m’ to develop AI teacher assistants
Union leaders question investment and warn that AI will not be a ‘silver bullet’ to fix teacher workload
Friday
‘Cost-cutting suspicion’ after DfE SEND contract rewrite
DfE faces questions after original SEND contract notice said government reforms would address the ‘cost burden’ caused by demand for services
Schools to get share of £289m for wraparound care
Local authorities will today receive details of funding aimed at boosting school-based wraparound care
Thursday
Weekly round-up: Ofsted chief probe and RSHE warning
This week’s essential education news includes a judge’s ruling over the Ofsted chief’s comments on home education and schools’ fears about the DfE’s latest RSHE demand
£20m hardship funding to go to high-deficit schools
The DfE has published details of the £40m hardship fund to support schools announced alongside the teacher pay deal in July
Breaking: DfE to target extra school cash to high deficit areas
Half of the one-off £40m hardship fund announced for schools as part of the summer pay deal will go to local authorities with school deficits over 1% of income, the government has revealed
What governors want from the next government
The joint CEO of the NGA explains what those giving up their time to support schools want any future government to tackle, from recruitment woes to building quality
