Thursday
Do schools need a Year 8 reading test?
The DfE plans to introduce a new reading assessment for Year 8, but how useful would this be for schools? Reading researcher Jessie Ricketts gives her view
7 bold SEND reform ideas the system needs
Fairer funding, more local provision and no spending on for-profit independent schools – these are some of the ways the SEND support system can be improved, says Roy Blatchford
5 ways to make your lessons ‘lean’ - and why you should
An international teacher shares some tips on keeping things simple in your lesson planning to make your classroom more inclusive
Personalised texts to parents ‘can improve attendance’
Schools could see a reduction in student absence by changing the way they message parents about non-attendance, research suggests
Wednesday
Poorer students ‘more likely to miss out on GCSE foreign languages’
Disadvantaged students are disproportionately in schools that do not have compulsory GCSE languages, a University of Cambridge study shows
Ofsted finds gaps in SEND training for trainee teachers
Inspectors praise overall coverage of SEND in ITT programmes but warn of patchy mentor knowledge and limited practical strategies in some providers
4 ways RISE can deliver sustained school improvement
The CEO and co-founder of education charity Challenge Partners share their insights into how the RISE school improvement programme can succeed where other government schemes have fallen short
Attendance: How we support early strugglers to stay at our school
Rather than sending new students struggling with attendance to alternative provision settings, this school has created a programme to ease them into secondary life – with impressive outcomes
Why Labour’s conference gives us real hope for education
After spending three days at the Labour conference, one trust leader says that – far from projecting doom and gloom – it highlighted a spirit of ambition that could transform our school system
Why schools have an impostor syndrome problem
Evidence shows teachers are vulnerable to persistent feelings of inadequacy, and this can have wide-ranging negative effects for schools, finds Mark Roberts
Tuesday
Target for half of school leavers to go to university is scrapped
The prime minister says he no longer believes in the target set by his predecessor Tony Blair – and instead announces a plan to promote ‘higher-level skills’
Phillipson: Heads need training to avoid ‘talking down’ to parents
The education secretary says school leaders should not ‘drift into judgement’ when engaging with parents
