General
Monday
16th Dec 2024
Ofsted criticises curriculum ‘barriers’ for SEND pupils in mainstream
Some mainstream school leaders focus on ‘meeting school accountability measures’ when developing SEND curriculum offer, watchdog says
First parents’ assembly report flags lack of education reform awareness
Survey finds 70 per cent of Scottish Assembly of Parents and Carers members do not feel informed about flagship education Bill
Friday
13th Dec 2024
David Laws appointed AQA board chair
Former schools minister appointed to country’s largest exam board with immediate effect, after Anne Spackman stood down
Falkirk plans to cut pupil learning hours will not go ahead
Controversial plans to save money by reducing time pupils spend in school are shelved, in same week as Scottish government said councils had agreed to freeze learning hours
Education committee backs Sir Ian Bauckham for Ofqual chief
Sir Ian told MPs that he will stand down from his role as chair of Oak National Academy ‘when practical to do so’ if he is appointed as Ofqual chief regulator
Unions: Workload pressures at ‘crisis point’
In joint evidence to School Teachers’ Review Body, education unions also call for reverse to real-terms pay cuts
Research: No evidence ability grouping harms disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes
91¶¶Òõt scores, confidence or enjoyment of subjects do not suffer as a result of setting or streaming, researchers suggest
Thursday
12th Dec 2024
Unions warn Phillipson 2.8% pay rise would derail recruitment plans
The increase would be ‘a real-terms pay cut’ and undermine the government’s target to recruit 6,500 teachers, a letter from four main education unions tells education secretary
Five things we learned from the 2024 exams
Malpractice reports were down in this year’s exam series, but incidents with an impact on exam delivery showed an increase
FMQs: Tories attack Swinney over ‘collapse of discipline’ in Scottish schools
Opposition parties make education the focus of First Minister’s Questions, after week of concerns over teacher numbers and rising numbers of pupils with ASN
Big rise in children missing education, DfE data shows
Meanwhile, separate DfE statistics show a sharp increase in children who are in elective home education
One in seven local authority schools in deficit, data shows
The income that schools generate themselves is now at its highest since the current form of records began