Friday
Pandemic five years on: how school social distancing efforts paid off
Schools worked hard to introduce social distancing, mask wearing and class bubbles during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now scientific research shows it was worth it
Why SEMH support is schools’ biggest challenge
Pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs have been found to fare the worst in terms of getting SEND support. Why is this, and what can schools do with constrained resources?
Early years: Teachers to be trained to supervise toothbrushing
School leaders warn government not to expect them to ‘fix all of society’s ills’ following supervised toothbrushing announcement
Thursday
DfE attendance tsar urges schools to focus on occasional absentees
Rob Tarn says schools struggling with attendance can make a difference with pupils who ‘could come to school all the time’
Lessons for England from 20 years of inclusion in Scotland
Labour wants more pupils with SEND in England to be educated in mainstream schools – so what can the country learn from Scotland, where this approach has been in place for decades?
Many pupils in poverty missing out on free school meals
With research revealing the gap between the number of children in poverty and those getting free school meals, the Education Policy Institute echoes calls for automatic enrolment
Free school meals: the case for auto-enrolment
The author of a major new study into auto-enrolment for free school meals and the associated benefits it unlocks outlines the key findings – and what issues would still remain
Wednesday
Attendance crisis: cliched explanations help no one
Attendance was a growing concern before the pandemic, so let’s not resort to simple answers to explain what’s going on now, says Ellie Costello from Square Peg
Can belonging really help fix behaviour, attendance and outcomes?
Generating a feeling of belonging in schools has been repeatedly cited as the key to solving multiple challenges, but is that claim supported by evidence? David Robson investigates
Tuesday
Lower school leaving age below 16, say Scottish Tories
The party is proposing that students as young as 14 should be able to leave school – but only if they take on an apprenticeship or go to college
As VAT bites, private schools have to face the reality of job cuts
Legal expert Emma Thompson outlines the steps private schools need to take if they are forced to make redundancies as a result of the introduction of VAT on fees
What if... ITT had limitless resources
As part of our thought experiment series, Ben Jose looks at what would change and what would stay the same if ITT had access to limitless time, technology and resources
