Monday
‘Support not sanctions’ will help schools tackle absence, DfE told
Schools need to be able to pay for attendance teams without ‘starving the classroom’, MAT leader warns
Covid closures ‘starkly highlighted’ schools’ safeguarding role
Covid inquiry hears how the closure of schools during the pandemic revealed the important part they play in protecting children
Students are aware of mental health support - but few access it
The proportion of students who say they would feel comfortable talking to an adult at school about their mental health has dropped, DfE survey shows
Reeves pledges library in every English primary school
Chancellor’s promise to create libraries in 1,700 primaries has been welcomed by teaching unions, but questions have been raised over difficulties in finding space and staff
Why we teach Years 7 and 8 about cryptocurrency
Bitcoin and other emerging payment systems may be nascent but, at this school, teaching pupils about their place in the world of money is embedded in its financial literacy work
Sunday
PM claim of SEND reform invitation is rejected by opponents
Conservatives and Liberal Democrats reject Sir Keir Starmer’s insistence that he invited political parties to collaborate on SEND reform
Phillipson pushes back at criticism over Year 8 reading tests
Education secretary stops short of confirming plans for mandatory reading test in Year 8, but defends the testing of students’ literacy skills
Friday
Secondary teacher recruitment still falling short despite rise in applications
NFER says teacher shortages will leave schools relying on non-specialists, timetable changes or returners to plug gaps
DfE should emphasise that Oak is ‘optional’, review finds
Government also says that Oak National Academy’s creation as an arm’s-length body has added a ‘degree of risk and uncertainty’ to domestic edtech market
The leap from GCSE to A-level Mandarin is far too hard
A lack of provision for students wanting to study Mandarin is one thing, but the current A-level exam specifications are putting many off, too, warns this school language lead
RBA technical problems prompt concerns over progress data
Teacher Tapp survey of KS1 and EYFS teachers finds 67 per cent faced technical issues when administering the Reception baseline assessment
Pupils are confiding in AI chatbots - these are the warning signs
Young people are turning to AI for comfort and reassurance – and this poses some major safeguarding risks that schools need to guard against, says this academic
