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DfE sets out £800m SEND teacher development contracts

The government’s spending plans could include the creation of national SEND CPD programmes, with contracts expected to be awarded to providers next year

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Schools lack expertise in AI, leaders warn

Less than 10 per cent of school leaders have an agreed strategy for use of artificial intelligence, research shows

Most councils face insolvency over SEND spending

The government is being urged to write off local authorities' high-needs deficits in response to new findings about their SEND budgets

Enrichment activities key to boosting attendance, think tank says

Report calls for government to introduce an ‘enrichment guarantee’ of at least 80 hours of extracurricular activities per year

Cambridge extends Checkpoint exam series

Exam board introduces a March series for the Checkpoint tests and moves the May series in response to demand from international schools

Heads’ leaders defend organised opposition to Ofsted plans

In response to a school leaders' union producing a template response to the Ofsted consultation, the watchdog says it wants to hear the views of individuals instead

DfE warned about ‘negative’ impact of Oak National Academy

The British Educational Suppliers Association raises concerns with a DfE review about the creation of Oak National Academy as a government resources quango

Short GCSE maths course should be introduced, OCR says

Exam board's proposed short-course maths qualification would form the first half of the GCSE and be taken at the end of Year 10

Scotland’s chief examiner to step down

Scotland's chief examiner and chief executive of the SQA Fiona Robertson will move on, with her interim successor to be announced shortly

9 out of 10 areas with highest absence are in the North

A coalition of northern-based charities and organisations calls on the government to tackle the root causes of pupil absence

Star Academies reveals expansion plans

Star Academies, which runs schools in five clusters across the country, is looking to open new free schools, its annual accounts show

MAT defends extending day plan after strike threat

Outwood Grange Academies Trust says its current day falls short of the expected 32.5-hour weekly minimum

Teach First appoints James Toop as its new CEO

Mr Toop was part of Teach First's inaugural 2003 cohort and also served as chief executive of Ambition Institute

Vision to transform school grounds in Scotland

National organisations join forces to rethink school grounds as 'playful and nature-rich environments' that can boost learning and 'design out violence'

MATs ‘need guidance’ on investments as returns soar

Large multi-academy trusts nearly tripled their cash returns from investments last year – so why aren't all trusts doing the same? Experts tell Jasmine Norden that MATs need guidance on ways to invest safely

Cut teaching jobs to save Scotland £500m, says IFS

But teaching union warns that cutting teacher numbers would be a 'false economy' that would 'damage life chances'

Ofsted framework will lead to ‘army of expensive consultants’

The Headteachers' Roundtable has also expressed concerns that inclusion and SEND are 'afterthoughts' in Ofsted's proposed inspection framework

RISE teams target 32 schools in ‘urgent’ need

The new regional school improvement programme will grow in April with the appointment of 50 new advisers, says DfE

Oliver: Time to rethink length of summer holidays

Chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver warns pupils can be 'dysregulated' after long summer break

Scotland’s biggest council backs down over planned teacher cuts

A strike planned for next week has been suspended as Glasgow says future cuts to teaching posts will not go ahead and that it will increase teacher numbers

Ofqual ‘ready to take action’ over extra exam time gap

Sir Ian Bauckham, speaking to ÌÇÐÄVlog after being confirmed as Ofqual's permanent chief regulator, highlights possible unfairness in students being awarded extra time in exams

Harden rules on violence against teachers, ministers told

Schools should have to report violence against staff to police, say Tories in bill debate – but Labour says they can already do this

Estyn: Welsh secondary attendance rate ‘stubbornly low’

Welsh secondaries' struggles to recruit teachers are ‘impacting the quality of education’, finds schools inspectorate's annual report

Holiday activities and food programme funding extended

However, further funding will be decided in the upcoming Spending Review, education minister Stephen Morgan has confirmed

Rural areas ‘hit hardest’ by falling number of schools in Scotland

Pupil numbers have been falling in primary since 2017 and education directors say the law on closing rural schools needs to be 'modernised’