Thursday
8 SEND and EHCP data insights schools need to know
New data on special educational needs provision in schools has been released. Dan Worth picks out the key trends
Weekly round-up: GCSE students hit and MAT fears
This week’s essential education news and analysis includes disadvantaged GCSE students being disrupted by teacher absence and a halt on key decisions affecting academy trusts
Mothballing rural schools ‘a betrayal of communities’
Fears have been raised that councils are increasingly mothballing rural schools – with campaigners saying the move is ‘closure by stealth’
Disadvantage absence gap widens in Year 7
Wider absence gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers after transition to secondary could be partly down to differences in ‘parental support’, say analysts
How to build a sustainable school improvement model
There is no one-size-fits-all model for school improvement. But here are some golden rules to bear in mind, writes this MAT education director
Concern as MAT growth advisory meetings halted
Leader calls for ‘full transparency about academy decisions’ as Tes reveals that regional advisory boards will not meet or publish minutes in pre-election period
Limited SEND funding pledges pose ‘serious threat’ to provision
The next government must tackle the challenges of the special educational needs and disabilities system, urges Education Policy Institute
Wednesday
Schools ‘in the dark’ over budgets after manifesto pledges
None of the main parties’ election manifestos offer ‘significant extra levels of core funding to help schools’ meet their financial challenges, IFS warns
PFI contracts must be tackled to ease funding woes
The next government should take action over expensive private finance initiative contracts costing schools millions, writes this headteacher
Exclusions aren’t the answer to Scotland’s behaviour issues
Resistance to school exclusions seems to be weakening in Scotland – but educators should be wary of apparent quick fixes for behaviour problems, says David Cameron
7 ways to solve the KS3 grammar knowledge problem
Grammar knowledge can be a big issue in key stage 3 and is often blamed on challenges owing to transition – here, Mark Roberts argues there are multiple barriers to address and gives some possible solutions
