Wednesday
Curriculum reform team sees another high-profile departure
Jenny Oldroyd, director for curriculum at the Department for Education, will move posts next month, prompting one union to describe a series of recent departures as ‘not ideal’
Social media inquiry risks shifting blame on to schools, ASCL warns
Schools must not be left with the ‘policing burden’ around social media, says school leaders’ union as it demands that tech companies are held to account
Should schools call time on extra time in exams?
Extra time is the most popular access arrangement to help students sitting their GCSE, AS-level and A-level exams, but is it the most helpful? Ellen Peirson-Hagger weighs up the evidence and whether there are better options
Students lack skills for on-screen assessment, warns exam board boss
In an exclusive interview with Tes, Eduqas CEO Ian Morgan talks about the risks of moving to on-screen assessment, the use of AI to mark exams and the debate over how long exams should be
Tuesday
Social media ban for under-16s is ‘no panacea’, say heads
Responding to the government consultation, the NAHT school leaders’ union also warns of the risks of an ‘overreliance’ on edtech and AI tools in schools
SEND reforms: Special schools’ fears over funding and demand
Responding to the consultation on the government’s SEND reforms, organisations from the specialist sector raise concerns about financial support and a lack of ‘clarity’ in the plans
Co-headship: could this model from China work for schools worldwide?
Are two heads really better than one? Emma Seith talks to two leaders operating in a co-principal model to find out about the benefits and the issues, and why it could be an approach for other international schools
Heads welcome falling rolls inquiry
Union leader calls for steps to protect staffing levels as schools face falling rolls driven by birth rates and cost-of-living crisis
Friday
Schools’ CIF odds improve slightly - but most projects miss out
Nearly seven in 10 applications to Condition Improvement Fund failed to secure funding, but DfE did approve 813 projects in the 2026-27 round
Andrew O’Neill seconded for another year as DfE policy adviser
Headteacher of All Saints Catholic College in London was first seconded to the Department for Education last summer to bring ‘frontline expertise’ to policymaking
3 stages of school development - how to spot them, and what to fix
Individual schools within groups are often at different stages in a journey – the key is to know what each stage is and how to move forward from there, says this leader
How teaching unions fell out of love with Labour
After a promising start to relations between the Labour government and the education unions, tensions have started to rise. Will an unfunded pay award be the tipping point for another series of strikes?
