Westminster chaos: James Cleverly appointed education secretary as Boris Johnson resigns James Cleverly has been appointed as the third education secretary in two days and the eighth in eight years.
Teachers' pay: Difficult decision looms for education secretary Squeezed school finances, a Treasury that looks unlikely to budge, recruitment and retention problems, and a teacher workforce threatening strike action all look set to place the education secretary in a difficult position this month.
Handle with caution: SATs results are published This year’s key stage 2 SATs results prove the case that further investment will be needed if the government’s 90% target is to be met by 2030, it was said this week.
It's not over: Covid 'rampaging' through our schools The government may think that Covid has “disappeared from the scene”, but the illness is “rampaging” through our schools as cases nationally continue to rise.
'Considerable challenge' facing new education secretary The new education secretary faces “a considerable challenge” both taking forward the White Paper proposals and addressing teacher recruitment and retention, including looming teacher pay negotiations.
SEND: Demand for EHCPs rockets as councils struggle Urgent action is needed to help local authorities meet the rising demand for SEND support that is seeing 170 young people beginning Education, Health and Care Plans every day.
Rise in absence as Covid variants hit As Covid infections increase in the general population, staff and pupil absences have risen sparking renewed calls for the reinstatement of free Covid testing in schools.
Double-whammy: PTA fundraising hit by Covid and cost-of-living crisis The amount of money being raised by school PTAs continues to fall despite volunteers putting in more hours.
Attendance: Proposed new thresholds look set to increase parental fines Students with SEN and those living in poverty are more likely to fall foul of new tougher non-attendance thresholds and therefore face the threat of a fixed penalty notice.
Harmful sexual behaviours: Schools seek referral support Schools are seeking support for making referrals to social services or law enforcement after incidents of harmful sexual behaviours among young people.
Finding common ground important for effective tutoring Finding out what pupils and tutors have in common can help to boost attendance at one-to-one or small group tutoring sessions, a research review has found.
Boost attendance and tackle persistent absence: Six recommendations We must “ask and listen”, meeting children where they are, and ensure any exclusions trigger intervention if we are to tackle the rising levels of persistent absence.
Almost one in four now eligible for free school meals – but many children still miss out Almost one in four pupils in state-funded education now qualify for free school meals (FSMs), however restrictive eligibility criteria still prevent many living in poverty from accessing a free school lunch.
Early career retention improves slightly, but 8% of teachers still quit Almost one in 10 teachers quit in 2020/21 and while teacher retention rates have improved slightly for early career teachers (ECTs), they are still worsening for more experienced colleagues, workforce data shows.
Cost of living crisis: Restrictive FSM eligibility criteria must be expanded, campaigners say “We see the devastating reality of children coming to school unable to afford to buy lunch, because their family circumstances mean they fall outside the restrictive free school meal eligibility criteria.”
'A vicious cycle' – poor Ofsted grades contribute to onset of challenging circumstances There is a “vicious cycle” between low Ofsted grades, increasingly deprived pupil intakes and increased staff turnover, researchers have found.
Teaching assistants demand minimum £2,000 pay rise Unions representing teaching assistants and other school support staff have submitted a pay claim demanding a pay boost of at least £2,000.
Key updates to statutory safeguarding guidance Updated statutory safeguarding guidance, including new information on domestic abuse, online safety, and child-on-child (not peer-on-peer) sexual violence and harassment, has been published ahead of implementation in September.
CAMHS: Steep rise in mental health figures is tip of the iceberg The dramatic and alarming increase in the number of children and young people being treated for mental health problems is just the tip of the iceberg.
Reading confidence: Quiet places to read and peer support key, report finds Pupils who are more confident with their reading have higher levels of wellbeing and lower levels of anxiety, research involving 80,000 young people has underlined.
Uncomfortable and disturbing: Report reveals substantial disparities in career progression for ethnic minority teachers Children entering school today have a “high probability of rarely or never being taught by a teacher from an Asian, black, mixed or other ethnic minority group”.
Who has been worst affected? New national attainment data released two years after the first lockdown reveals that some pupil groups have suffered greater ‘losses’ to their learning. Stephan Nicholls gives us an overview
Schools Bill: Funding remains the elephant in the room It is funding, not academy status or attendance policies, that will have the biggest impact on helping to raise attainment in schools, it was said this week.
Attendance policy requirements spelt out in new guidance New school attendance policies must include details of how attendance data will be used, the point at which sanctions will kick in, and strategies for reducing persistent and severe absence.
School leaders slam 'underhand' plan to publish tutoring data School leaders have accused the government of attempting to distract from the “mess” it has made of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) with the “underhand” introduction of tutoring league tables.
