Guidance

New guidance on communicating with parents about absence leaves schools with the ‘all but impossible’ task of improving attendance without being able to hold families to account, warn leaders

Ofqual says schools can cut exam times by choosing different awarding bodies, but Tes analysis reveals that, in most cases, this isn’t an option – and school leaders are now calling for the number of exams to be reduced instead

Schools will be provided with new tools highlighting absence patterns over the year, and new communications guides to improve engagement with families

DfE advice seeks to allay fears that severe shortages of staff such as educational psychologists will put the brakes on its Experts at Hand service, on same day as it reveals members of key SEND panel

Year 8 reading tests, GCSE English shortcomings, and the tricky balance between grammar and reading enjoyment were among the issues raised at an MPs’ committee today

Schools must not be left with the ‘policing burden’ around social media, says school leaders’ union as it demands that tech companies are held to account

Heads’ unions hope plans to make vaping illegal anywhere on site will help settings to reinforce existing school rules

Schools must show leadership on AI because doing nothing is the riskiest option, says Scottish secondary headteacher Stuart Clark

Scotland has ‘patchy and inconsistent’ relationships, sexual health and parenthood education, and lags behind other parts of the UK, says Joanne Smith

A ‘moment of truth’ faces Scotland’s education system, says Sheena Devlin, who sets out the ADES’ view on what must change

New DfE-convened regional partnerships will be expected to provide ‘formalised oversight’ of progress against school improvement priorities

New policy aimed at saving schools money is welcomed, but heads’ union points out that fewer supply staff would be needed if teacher recruitment and retention were improved