Weekly round-up: Pupil absence and a plea to Ofsted

Catch up on your must-read education news and analysis from the past seven days right here:

• Attendance up but absence still double pre-Covid rates
  The proportion of pupils who missed school last term fell slightly compared with the previous autumn - but unauthorised absence remains stubbornly high, new government data shows.
• Attendance crisis: DfE expands hubs and mentor scheme
  The government is to roll out 18 more school attendance hubs and a £15 million expansion of its mentor programme for persistently absent children in a bid to fix stubbornly high pupil absence rates.
• Hinds: Tweak parent attitudes to cut absence below 5 per cent
  Schools minister Damian Hinds says the government wants to cut pupil absence by persuading parents that children should go to school if they have mild illnesses or anxiety.
• Labour plans to use AI to spot school absence trends
  Party says it would use artificial intelligence to spot trends in absence as part of plans to tackle ongoing high levels of non-attendance.
• Why Ofsted training should be open to all headteachers
  Letting all school leaders see behind the curtain would reduce fear of Ofsted inspection and make it more collaborative, says this trust regional director.
• GCSEs: More than three-quarters fail maths resits
  Less than a quarter of students who took GCSE maths in the latest November exams achieved the grade 4 they needed to pass, Joint Council for Qualifications results data shows.
• Poorer pupils less likely to get top school places
  Ofsted inspections should assess fair access to schools, the Sutton Trust charity has said, after its analysis found that poorer pupils are less likely to get into top-performing comprehensives.
• Phillipson praises Gove’s ‘drive and energy’
  Labour’s Bridget Phillipson this week began a speech setting out her party’s policies by praising the former education secretary and Conservative MP Michael Gove for his “sense of drive and energy”.
• How to manage your time as a middle leader
  Time management can be challenging for middle leaders - so what systems, tricks and tips are there to get your diary under control? Find out in the latest instalment of Tes’ Middle Leadership Essentials series.
• Why Ofqual chiefs should consider re-mark reform
  The number of GCSE re-marks shows that the system leaves a lot to be desired in terms of how appeals are made and, more significantly, how mistakes enter exam marking, writes Yvonne Williams.