Tuesday
Empty churches could be used for pupils with SEND, says Reform
A working group on tackling the SEND crisis is launched by Reform UK, to be led by former DfE minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns
5 key challenges in teacher recruitment and retention
Teacher workload and leadership ‘churn’ are among the big issues for the school workforce, an MPs’ committee hears from the NEU, ASCL and NFER
6 ways to identify pupils’ needs early
When we notice and act on pupils’ needs quickly, it can make a huge difference, says Anne Heavey, but teachers must have the right support to be able to do this well
David Ross Education Trust announces new chief executive
Simon Rose had been interim chief executive of the 36-school trust since September and has held other senior roles across DRET
How schools can raise awareness of blood donation
A former deputy head explains how her ‘Pint for Mike’ campaign, launched in memory of her late husband, is encouraging more young people to donate blood
Chemistry curriculum fails to reflect digital reality, RSC warns
Students are completing time-consuming tasks by hand, whereas professional scientists use advanced tools such as AI and machine learning, says Royal Society of Chemistry
Most teachers have a homeless child at their school
And three-quarters of teachers say that homelessness has led to pupils doing poorly in assessments, research shows
Monday
No extra funding for teacher pay, Treasury confirms
Treasury says the DfE must fund any teacher pay award from its existing budget, with no additional money being provided beyond spending review settlements
Exam board fined a record £2m for ‘serious breaches’
Ofqual says the size of Pearson’s fine for three separate cases reflects the ‘serious nature’ of its failures, which affected ‘tens of thousands’ of students
Google seeks to develop chatbot for teachers
Google DeepMind aims to build a version of its Gemini chatbot that can be used by teachers and is trained on the national curriculum in England
Why we need to pay more attention to the social side of attendance
Pupils with SEND have far higher absence rates than those without. We need systemic change, not simply a focus on attendance, argues this headteacher
What Ofqual’s new exam data reveals about grading errors
New Ofqual data on the number of GCSE and A-level marks changed on review after the summer 2025 exams provides more clarity on the accuracy of marking, explains Dennis Sherwood
