Weekly round-up: SEND plan, teacher strikes and Ofsted

Your round-up of Tes’ essential news and analysis from the past week includes details of the government’s long-awaited plan to reform SEND support, reaction to regional teacher strikes and a warning about the value of Ofsted inspections

2nd March 2023, 3:34pm

Tes Editorial

In a week when the Department for Education was faced with three consecutive days of teacher strikes across the country, it found time to finally produce its long-awaited plan for special education needs and disability (SEND) reforms.

Teacher members of the biggest union took part in regional strikes from Tuesday to Thursday, but with no improved pay offer forthcoming from the government, union leaders - buoyed by support from parents - were warning about further strikes in the summer term.

Meanwhile, the DfE revealed that its plan to improve SEND support includes creating new national standards, moving to a digitised system for education, health and care plans (EHCPs), and a new system of funding bands and tariffs to provide more consistent funding around the country.

Also this week, a big drop in applications for initial teacher training (ITT) exacerbated fears about teacher shortages; and new research explained why Ofsted grades are “not particularly useful” to parents when they are choosing a school.

Catch up on all your must-read Tes content from the past seven days right here:

DfE SEND plan: everything you need to know
Ministers have set out their plans for special educational needs and disability reform, including creating new national standards and moving to a digitised system for EHCPs.
SEND standards risk ‘more adversarial’ system
Creating new national standards for SEND could put more pressure on schools if they are not given the funding and support to meet them, ministers have been warned.
SEND plan ‘is an admission of defeat’
The government’s new SEND plan is unlikely to lead to meaningful change any time soon - and this is why, says former Department for Education adviser Sam Freedman.
Teacher strikes: what happened this week?
All the updates and reaction from the three days of regional strike action by the NEU teaching union this week.
Summer teacher strike dates could be set this month
The NEU is set to discuss holding further teacher strikes during the summer term at a meeting later this month - but the union says action will not take place on exam days.
Teacher strikes: 60% of parents support strikes
Most parents and nearly half of the public support teachers taking strike action, and share concerns about the lack of education funding, according to a new poll.
MATs shift cash to save primary schools
Multi-academy trusts that run both primary and secondary schools are increasingly being forced to divert funds towards primaries to prevent falling standards or closures in the face of funding pressures and declining rolls, leaders have told Tes.
‘Astonishing’ drop in teacher training applications
Applications to ITT courses have fallen by up to 37 per cent compared with last year, new statistics show.
Ofsted grades ‘not particularly useful’ for parents
Inspections by the watchdog are “not particularly useful” to parents choosing schools, according to new research highlighting how a school’s Ofsted grade can be years out of date and is not an indicator of the future academic performance of a pupil there.
Review Ofsted school grades, says academies body
The Confederation of School Trusts, the body representing multi-academy trusts, has called for a review of Ofsted’s four-grade inspection judgement system for schools, in a paper seen by Tes.
Headteachers ‘emotionally crushed’ by ‘impossible job’
School leaders are being left feeling “emotionally crushed” because budget pressures and staff shortages mean they “cannot meet the needs of all the young people in their care”, a charity has warned.
Sam Twiselton: my experience inside the ITT review
In an exclusive interview, one of the experts appointed by the government to lead its controversial shake-up of the ITT sector reveals how she has fought to steer the process in the right direction.
Teacher pay: Why we need proper job evaluation
Job evaluation could be a way of tackling the three huge issues causing the teacher recruitment and retention crisis - workload, low pay and long hours, writes Yvonne Williams.

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