Strike closes one in 10 schools as an estimated 200,000 teachers walk-out As many as 200,000 members of the National Education Union are estimated to have walked out on Wednesday (February 1) – forcing the full closure of around one in 10 schools.
School support staff lodge 12.7% pay claim Unions representing school support staff are demanding a 12.7% pay rise from April and better recognition of SEND expertise in the formal pay and conditions of teaching assistants.
Covid recovery: Subsidy axe threatens tutoring interventions, heads say By the end of 2022, more than 1.3 million pupils had taken part in school-led Covid recovery tutoring, but these interventions are now at risk due to government cuts to tutoring subsidies, school leaders have warned.
No heat. No food. No end in sight. The families facing deepening, desperate poverty Deepening levels of poverty have forced many of the poorest families to cut down on or skip meals. Other families are turning off the heating. Some families have no choice but to do both...
'This is for our Ollie' – schools defibrillator roll-out begins There will be a defibrillator in all state-funded schools in England by the end of the academic year after the first of 20,000 units were dispatched.
Axe 'reductionist' Ofsted grades for narrative judgements? Ofsted inspection should lead to a “narrative description” of a school’s strengths and weaknesses across different areas and not graded judgements, which are “reductionist” and “misleading”.
'Any time, any place' – NEU open to further negotiation As a second meeting between the DfE and education unions this week yields "no progress", the National Education Union says it is “willing to enter into negotiations any time, any place” to avert seven days of planned strike action.
School cyber-attacks: Top three methods revealed Malware and ransomware attacks have left one in five schools without access to important and sensitive information about pupils and staff, research reveals.
Specialist teachers of the deaf: Alarm at dramatic fall in numbers Cost-cutting and a crisis in the recruitment and retention of specialist teachers of the deaf is putting the education of thousands of deaf children at risk.
Teachers face pay cut this year as strike talks deadlocked As talks to avert looming teacher strikes yielded no progress, new analysis shows that most teachers are facing a 5% real-terms cut to their pay this year.
Energy discount scheme extended – but fewer schools will benefit Fewer schools will benefit the government’s new discount scheme for energy bills – however those still eligible can now count on support until the end of March 2024.
Schools Bill: Demand for clarity over 'parent pledge' and 32.5-hour week School leaders are demanding clarity on the future of policies such as the “parent pledge” and the 32.5-hour school week following the axing of the Schools Bill.
'A sticking plaster' – DfE's £500m energy efficiencies fund not enough There is “deep concern” among school leaders that the government has already decided to end the energy relief scheme in March leaving schools exposed to huge hikes in their bills.
Recruitment and retention: The most deprived schools hit hardest After catastrophic teacher recruitment figures are revealed, a new analysis shows that schools with high levels of free school meals have higher teacher attrition, higher teacher vacancies, and spend much more money on supply.
Literacy: One in 15 pupils do not have a book at home As many as 500,000 children – one in 15 – do not have a book of their own at home, with dire consequences for their literacy development.
Cost of living crisis: Increasing numbers of non-FSM pupils cannot afford school lunches Pupils unable to concentrate, tired, without adequate winter clothing, coming to school hungry, and families unable to afford school lunches...
Mental health crisis: NHS warning over eating disorders and self-harm Almost one in five children aged seven to 16 have a probable mental health disorder according to the latest NHS research.
Staff wellbeing: ‘We are witnessing the slow disintegration of the workforce’ Insomnia, mood swings, over-eating, tearfulness, recurring headaches, difficulty concentrating – welcome to life as a teacher in 2022.
Increase in low-attaining pupils as disadvantage gap 'shows no sign of reducing' The proportion of low-attainers in year 2 classrooms has tripled for reading and doubled for maths post-pandemic, presenting significant challenges for teaching staff.
Ofsted graded judgements 'woefully blunt tool' Ofsted’s graded judgements are a “woefully blunt tool” it was said this week after 83% of schools previously exempted from inspection lost their outstanding rating.
Almost 3,000 primary schools – one in seven – have no library provision Primary schools in the North of England are significantly more likely to have no library provision, new findings show.
Leadership and workload more important than behaviour for tackling teacher stress Supportive school leadership and reasonable workload demands are most closely related to relieving the stress that teachers often feel, research suggests.
One in four children say they are 'frequently' bullied A quarter of children say they are frequently victims of face-to-face bullying, with those on free school meals or with SEND more likely to be targeted.
Funding crisis: 13 things school leaders may be forced to cut The stark reality of exactly how thousands of school leaders plan to cut frontline provision in light of the funding crisis has been spelt out in new research.
Safeguarding: Plea for politicians to get on with Online Safety Bill Thousands of online child sex offences will have been recorded during the on-going delays to the progress of the landmark Online Safety Bill, frustrated campaigners have warned this week.
