SEND

Increase in legal costs is likely due to the government introducing contentious policies that have ‘well-funded’ opponents – such as VAT on private school fees, say experts

Committee will scrutinise DfE’s teacher recruitment targets and plans to reform accountability measures and narrow the disadvantage gap

Education secretary faces questions from MPs over the government’s SEND plans, teacher recruitment and curriculum reform

MPs hear it will take a ‘heroic effort’ for the government to meet its target of 100 per cent of schools being covered by 2030 – and that strict behaviour policies risk ‘punishing’ pupils for mental health issues

The government’s long-awaited enrichment benchmarks for schools have finally been published, encompassing areas such as civic engagement, the arts, nature and sport

The latest official data shows a 24 per cent increase in the number of pupils with an education, health and care plan in the past two years

Around half of secondary schools have already produced extra documents to prepare for the new inspections

While nations such as Canada, Italy and Portugal are often cited as SEND success stories, a deeper look at the data and context tells a different story, says this trust CEO

Many maintained nursery schools are struggling to stay afloat, research shows – at a time when the government is talking up early years’ role in getting children school-ready

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

Tes analysis sparks calls for reform of funding and accountability systems to better support academy trusts with high numbers of vulnerable pupils

Moving mental health from SEND frameworks to something more ‘clinically defined and externally determined’ could have real consequences, warns Thomas Keaney