Wednesday
KS3 Alliance launches national call for evidence on ‘overlooked’ phase
Schools and trusts are asked to help define the purpose of early secondary years amid concerns that students can lose engagement after Year 7
Play-based learning helps boost maths in KS1, study reveals
Teaching Year 2 pupils to reason about maths through games and practical activities boosted attainment, EEF trial finds
Tuesday
Powell told to revamp ‘dispiritingly dull’ English curriculum
Education committee chair Helen Hayes writes to education secretary asking her to ‘look again’ at review of how English is being taught
Barton urges new government to review White Paper
Former headteachers’ leader warns government is trying to do too much and warned it could ‘flog the system to death’
National centre promises to ‘revitalise’ arts in ‘under-served’ schools
New online centre’s drive for high-quality arts teaching and enrichment will prioritise ‘children and communities currently least able to access them’
Fears over lack of teachers for new natural history GCSE
Experts also highlight concerns about the new qualification overlapping with other subjects and schools’ ability to provide equal access to high-quality fieldwork
Thursday
KS2 Sats: Disadvantage gap rises to highest level in 4 years
The disadvantage-related attainment gap has only been higher in three years since 2010-11, while today’s DfE data also shows that girls continue to outperform boys
MATs centralising the curriculum: the myths, trends and critics
Talk of teachers being told from the top which PowerPoints to use in their lessons has sparked criticism of curriculum centralisation, but what is really happening in trusts? Jasmine Norden investigates
