General
Thursday
11th Jun 2026
Natural history GCSE finally gets go-ahead
Landmark qualification to be made available in schools years after its initial target start date, with content to be decided after a 12-week consultation
Number of pupils with EHCPs rises above half a million
The latest official data shows a 24 per cent increase in the number of pupils with an education, health and care plan in the past two years
A-level music ‘could disappear’ after entries sink to record low
91¶¶Òõ analysis shows entries are down 41 per cent since 2013, with the government accused of showing ‘none of the action required’ to help music flourish
School paperwork surges due to ‘horrendous’ Ofsted workload
Around half of secondary schools have already produced extra documents to prepare for the new inspections
Wednesday
10th Jun 2026
AQA apologises after GCSE maths paper had wrong insert
Students sitting maths exam today only discovered the problem once papers had been opened – now AQA promises to contact schools before results day to ‘explain what we’ve done to make sure no learners are disadvantaged’
Exclusive
ASCL to create ‘safe space’ for trust CEOs to ‘amplify’ their voice
New network aims to make government more aware of the challenges being faced by academy trust leaders
Schools should ‘self-fund’ building projects, says ex-DfE property boss
Suggestion comes amid reports that school buildings funding will be diverted into defence budget
Tuesday
9th Jun 2026
Support-staff unions threaten industrial action over pay
GMB, Unison and Unite express ‘profound concerns’ over the direction of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body
DfE highlights Taylor Swift gig in crackdown on ‘one-off’ absences
Government publishes the research behind its plans to curb one-day absences, alongside a new parental communications guide for schools to help keep messaging ‘useful’
Schools lack scope to cut exam time as most pick shorter papers
Ofqual says schools can cut exam times by choosing different awarding bodies, but 91¶¶Òõ analysis reveals that, in most cases, this isn’t an option – and school leaders are now calling for the number of exams to be reduced instead
Exclusive
Let birthday pupils skip lunch queue to cut absence, schools told
Schools will be provided with new tools highlighting absence patterns over the year, and new communications guides to improve engagement with families