General

Thursday

Suspensions fall but remain higher than before Covid
Permanent exclusions from school have also dropped and are now similar to pre-pandemic levels, DfE figures show
Suspensions and exclusions autumn 2024-25
SEND: Resource bases ‘can be exclusion in its worst sense’
Mainstream and AP leaders question the government’s focus on resourced provision and SEN units in its drive to create a more inclusive school system
School leaders have questioned the use of resourced provision as a solution to delivering inclusion.
Teachers far more likely than students to say phone rules are followed
Findings from the latest DfE behaviour survey also indicate that leaders, educators and pupils disagree about the extent to which their school is ‘calm and orderly’
Phones in schools
Reduced class contact time measures announced in Scotland
Four-day teacher working week, dedicated day for professional activities and minimum pupil learning hours proposed, but union expresses ‘deep disappointment’ at handling of announcement
Contact time
Do ‘fear appeals’ really motivate students to work harder?
Warning pupils about the consequences of not putting effort into their studies can backfire, writes Mark Roberts, who shares some alternative approaches to motivate classes
Teachers using fear appeals to motivate students rarely works, research shows
Focus on disadvantaged boys to hit school-ready target, DfE told
Successive governments have failed to tackle entrenched inequalities in early years outcomes for boys from low-income backgrounds, IfG report warns
Successive governments have ignored boys from low income families a report has warned.
Two-thirds of teachers support children in poverty every month
Teachers cite pupils attending school without breakfast, sleeping on sofas and not having basic equipment as examples of where they needed to step in
Poverty
Government funds research to spot SEND needs earlier by 2028
Science minister Lord Vallance says £4 million research programme aims to support faster intervention
SEND funding
5 ways schools and the NHS can work together
A new framework from Windsor Academy Trust outlines how schools can work with the NHS to ensure a healthy life for pupils – and improve educational outcomes, too
Tandem bike ride