Thursday
Weekly round-up: Teacher strike and Ofsted inquiry
This week’s essential education news and analysis includes the teacher pay dispute and Thursday’s strike action, the launch of an inquiry into Ofsted inspections and a worrying drop in ITT applications
Why we need to rethink ‘desirable difficulties’
The idea that ‘desirable difficulties’ support learning is widespread, but, as Alex Quigley finds, it’s a theory that’s vulnerable to lethal mutations
DfE raises secondary ITT target by 26%
The government has estimated that 26,360 postgraduate initial teacher training secondary trainees will need to start their training in the 2023-24 academic year
Parents’ support for teacher strike softens
Majority of parents still support the NEU teaching union strike, but opposition to the action has increased since February
Ofsted MAT checks: 7 key findings
Ofsted resumed its summary evaluations of multi-academy trusts a year ago. Here is everything you need to know about its findings since then
Why every ITT trainee should have to go to special school or AP
Initial teacher training doesn’t focus enough on supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities – and putting this right would benefit everyone, explains teacher and senior leader Bukky Yusuf
Wednesday
Plan for ‘a range’ of teacher pay levels, schools told
DfE tells heads they should budget for all possible pay review body outcomes after its pay offer was rejected by all four unions and ahead of further teacher strikes tomorrow
CEO of one of country’s largest MATs to stand down
Oasis Community Learning chief executive John Murphy is to stand down after nine years in post
NI teachers and civil servants in biggest industrial action for a decade
Strike action in Northern Ireland takes place a day after it emerged that no new school buildings or school extensions would be started in 2023-24 as a result of education cuts
Falling rolls fund will open to schools with lower Ofsted grades
DfE funding rule change aims to help schools hit by falling pupil numbers due to the decline in the birth rate
Jean Gross: How school has to change for disadvantaged pupils to thrive
Following the pandemic, the gap between disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers is wider than ever. But there are ways to level the playing field, says author and advocate Jean Gross
Two-thirds of heads ‘have to cut teaching assistants’
More schools are using pupil premium to plug funding gaps than at any point since polling began six years ago
