Friday
NEU members willing to take industrial action over pay and funding
Overwhelming majority of teacher members who voted in indicative ballot reject three-year pay recommendation and indicate support for taking action, but turnout was less than 50 per cent
SEND reform: Individual support plans must not reduce pupils’ rights
Lawyers at the charity Independent Provider of Special Education Advice explain why the detail in the government’s plans for SEND support needs to be carefully thought through
SEND: 4 ways to set up a successful inclusion base
With the government planning for every secondary to have an inclusion base, one school business leader who researched mainstream SEND provision for her MBA shares key advice on getting these units right
Where are the ‘big levers’ of curriculum and assessment in SEND reforms?
For a more inclusive system, ministers must rethink what children learn and how success is measured, say school leaders – who fear that an opportunity has been missed on curriculum and assessment
Thursday
Banning phones in schools ‘already solved’, claims minister
Education minister Olivia Bailey comes under fire as MPs reject Lords’ proposal for a statutory ban on phones in schools
Why schools will struggle to fund ‘utterly unrealistic’ food standards
A government pilot scheme for the new healthier school food standards showed that costs of meals increased and uptake dropped, says expert
How is Australia’s social media ban playing out in schools?
After Australia introduced a world-first ban on social media for under-16s, Zofia Niemtus speaks to school leaders in the country about the impact of the new law
Deprived schools need bigger share of nurseries cash, DfE told
Most of the schools successful in applying for the grant to open new nurseries have fewer FSM pupils than the national average, Tes analysis reveals
DfE warned over ‘chronic shortage’ of educational psychologists
The worst-affected area has only one educational psychologist for every 9,400 pupils, with shortages putting the DfE’s inclusion plans at risk, EPI warns
Wednesday
‘Unbelievably’ tough DfE disadvantage target ‘lacks a huge plan’
The government’s pledge to halve the disadvantage-related attainment gap is ‘intentionally’ vague and does not address the root causes of this inequality in outcomes, experts tell MPs
Stop ‘proactive’ schools grabbing inclusion support, councils told
DfE tasks local authorities with creating ‘experts at hand’ plans for schools – but sector leaders raise concerns about a lack of evidence on how this should be delivered
