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A quarter of schools offer no KS4 vocational qualifications

Teachers broadly support Andy Burnham’s plan for new technical pathways, new polling shows, but the survey raises questions about schools’ capacity to increase their focus on vocational education

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King’s Birthday Honours: heads and MAT leaders recognised

Multi-academy trust CEOs and headteachers are among many education figures included in the King's Birthday Honours list

The key changes to Ofsted inspection for 2026-27

Ofsted publishes updated grading toolkits and guides for inspectors coming into effect from September

£60m framework to supply phone pouches for schools

Lockable pouches that prevent students from accessing their devices during the school day are central to the DfE's plans for ‘phone‑free’ schools

Revealed: the widening gender gap in MAT CEO pay

There has been a sharp rise in the salary gap between male and female leaders of the 100 biggest academy trusts, 91¶¶Òõ analysis reveals

NEU strike fund falls as teacher pay decision looms

Industrial action ballots have jumped by nearly two-thirds since 2023, the union's latest accounts show, as redundancy disputes rise

Eastern trusts plan 42-school merged MAT

The Inspiring Futures through Learning trust and Chiltern Learning Trust hope to merge next year if their plan gets DfE approval

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

Sats marking scheme ‘trying to catch children out’, heads warn

School leaders' union calls on the Standards and 91¶¶Òõting Agency to abandon its 'rigid' approach to marking and reward children for demonstrating understanding

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'

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

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

Revealed: the most popular GCSE and A-level subjects in 2026

Provisional entries data for this summer has been released by Ofqual – with sharp drops in computing and French among the standout trends

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'

Nearly three-quarters of nursery schools to cut costs amid pressures

Many maintained nursery schools are struggling to stay afloat, research shows – at a time when the government is talking up early years' role in getting children school-ready

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

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

Inspired takes ‘significant step’ with Caribbean expansion

The group has acquired Island Primary and Island Montessori in Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands

Government to review screen time in schools

Consultation will result in guidance on children’s screen time in and out of school, and the government is also planning safety certification for AI products for schools

Parent complaints ‘contributing to school staff quitting’

Research comes amid a rise in the volume and complexity of complaints faced by schools, including an increase in AI-written grievances

Ofqual ‘closely monitoring’ A-level maths paper that sparked petition

Around 23,000 people have signed a petition calling for 'unusally difficult' exam to be reviewed, but Pearson Edexcel says the paper was 'rigorously checked'