Weekly round-up: Teacher shortages and Ofsted warning

Catch up on all your must-read Tes news and analysis right here:

• DfE workforce plan delay ‘dispiriting’ amid teacher shortage
  Ministers’ decision to delay the publication of the Department for Education’s updated teacher recruitment and retention strategy “shows a complete lack of urgency over teacher shortages”, a headteachers’ leader has warned.
• Schools don’t have funds to hire enough staff, poll shows
  Schools are unable to hire enough teachers to properly support learning, a survey of nearly 4,000 teaching staff by the NEU union shows.
• Hunt told schools need extra £1.7bn in Autumn Statement
  Schools will be “on the brink” unless the chancellor delivers a funding increase of £1.7 billion in the Autumn Statement for 2024-25, education unions have warned.
• Ofsted reports would be ‘opaque’ without grades, warns Gibb
  Scrapping single-word Ofsted judgements would lead to people picking out phrases from school inspection reports “like a theatre review”, schools minister Nick Gibb has claimed.
• ‘Most’ Ofsted grades align with exam results
  The majority of schools received inspection grades that aligned with their headline performance data in 2022-23, according to an Ofsted report.
• Safeguarding: three Ofsted findings for schools
  School leaders have told Ofsted they are often working in “isolation” to safeguard vulnerable children, according to a new report from the inspectorate looking at multi-agency child support.
• Oak National Academy: Judicial review to go ahead
  The High Court has given its approval for three organisations to pursue legal action against the government’s decision to establish Oak National Academy as an arm’s-length body.
• Mandatory sexual abuse reporting: four key questions for teachers
  A new government consultation gives some idea about how a mandatory sexual abuse reporting framework may be created - and what it could mean for those working in schools.
• Effective communication: tips for middle leaders
  Expert advice to help school middle leaders get communication right with both their own team and SLT (part five of Tes’ Middle Leadership Essentials series).
• 2 million pupils could be persistently absent, Labour warns
  More than two million children could be regularly missing school by 2025 if the number of pupils absent from classrooms continues on its current trajectory, Labour has claimed.
• Flexible working: how our trust is reaping the benefits
  The CEO of a multi-academy trust chosen as a flexible working ambassador explains the changes it has made to give its staff more flexible working opportunities.