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The latest news, analysis, research and advice regarding disadvantaged pupils, including information on funding, free school meals and closing the attainment gap

Tuesday

8th Sep 2026

Where will Mission Coastal go next?
Tes looks at which coastal areas could follow Hastings and Scarborough in the government’s school improvement scheme
A person pressing a red pin into a map
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Friday

28th Aug 2026

What leading a struggling school taught me about disadvantage
When she became headteacher of a failing school in an area of high deprivation, Lottie Bloom faced a steep learning curve. Here she shares her insights into turning the school around
Mother and child walking to food bank

Thursday

6th Aug 2026

Neet data justifies ‘rewiring entire education system’, says Powell
Education secretary warns that vocational studies must not play ‘second fiddle’ in schools, the week after prime minister Andy Burnham announced new technical education routes
Education secretary Lucy Powell plans to 'rewire' the education system

Friday

5th Jun 2026

Trusts with higher disadvantage and SEND face 75% bigger deficits
Tes analysis sparks calls for reform of funding and accountability systems to better support academy trusts with high numbers of vulnerable pupils
High-needs trusts face deeper per-pupil deficits, data shows

Tuesday

12th May 2026

What if social class was a protected characteristic in schools?
As part of our thought experiment series, Tomas Thurogood-Hyde argues that social class protections would be a complex introduction to education
Broken ladder

Friday

1st May 2026

The complex story behind rising suspensions in primary schools
Suspensions have risen in primary schools but fallen in secondaries. Here, education leaders tell Tes what they think is behind the contrasting trends
Primary suspensions rising
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Thursday

30th Apr 2026

School leaders ‘not aware’ of admissions segregation
Affluent pupils are almost twice as likely to attend high-attaining schools as poorer pupils, even within the same catchment area, research shows
School leaders 'lack awareness' of social division

Wednesday

29th Apr 2026

Low prior attainers not harmed by learning in sets, EEF finds
But high-attaining maths students in Year 7 and Year 8 performed worse when taught in mixed-ability groups, according to research from Education Endowment Foundation
teaching maths

Thursday

23rd Apr 2026

Two in five school leaders ‘cutting back on SEND support’
Sutton Trust research into the cuts schools are having to make reveals the ‘mismatch’ between the government’s ambitious plans and the funding being provided, sector leaders warn
Two in five school leaders cutting back on SEND support, survey suggests

Friday

13th Mar 2026

How our coastal school has stopped leavers becoming Neet
The North East has England’s highest proportion of young people not in education, employment or training, but one school in the region has brought its Neet number down to zero. Here’s how
How schools can stop leavers becoming Neet - not in education, employment or training

Friday

30th Jan 2026

White disadvantaged girls see sharpest drop at GCSE
Leaders call for the government to set out targeted action amid fears that girls are being overlooked in the drive to improve white working-class pupils’ outcomes
Bad exam results
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Saturday

24th Jan 2026

FSM students face new barriers to university - and schools need to react
Encouraging disadvantaged students to apply to university isn’t enough – we need to prepare them for online bullying and financial challenges, writes trust executive leader Keziah Featherstone
Girls on obstacle course