Tuesday
Third of areas cut core school funding to prop up SEND
DfE urged to fix the ‘scandal’ of mainstream school funding being diverted to support councils’ ‘mountainous’ SEND debts
What if... schools all stopped setting homework?
As part of our thought experiment series, Naveen Rizvi asks whether homework is worth the workload cost – and if anyone would miss it if every school stopped setting it
Monday
Government to cover 90% of council SEND debts
Local authorities will be able to apply for a new High Needs Stability Grant if they get DfE approval for a local SEND reform plan
Half of RISE schools faced ‘challenges’ with supporting organisations
DfE urged to rethink which schools are targeted under its new school improvement programme after evaluation report highlights early difficulties
No need to go to Shanghai or Singapore for answers, says DfE adviser
Capacity to improve England’s schools exists within the system, and it would be better to travel to see good practice within country’s borders, says Sir Kevan Collins
DfE guidance on phones ‘insufficient’, warns union
NASUWT calls for statutory restrictions on phones in schools, saying the current government guidance exposes staff to challenges from parents
Why apprenticeships could be critical in the teacher recruitment crisis
Teaching apprenticeships have grown by 800 per cent since launch, but to reap the benefits we need more support, argues Hannah Senel-Walp
Cash-strapped councils’ spending on private special schools soars
Local authorities with the biggest SEND deficits see their spending on places in independent special schools rise by up to 58 per cent, Tes analysis shows
Friday
School-readiness focus for new Best Start in Life ‘champion’
The DfE’s appointment of Sue Robb comes amid concerns that too many children are arriving in Reception lacking basic skills
Labour’s confusing communications create same old policy problems
ASCL chief Pepe Di’Iasio laments that the government seems to have learned little from the past as it continues to issue ‘policy via press release’
Can citizenship be squeezed into a ‘bursting’ primary curriculum?
Citizenship education is to become mandatory in primary schools. But how realistic is it to expect schools to fit a subject ranging from law to finances and media literacy into an already-busy timetable?
