Wednesday
Why it’s right to include schools in children’s social care overhaul
Children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, outlines why new proposals to bring schools more closely into the social care system are to be welcomed
‘Lack of clarity’ over schools being forced to join MATs
Government sets out how it plans to ensure all schools join multi-academy trusts by 2030 – but ‘what happens if schools do not play ball’, union leader asks
Fifty officials invited to DfE Covid Christmas drinks
The details have been revealed in a new report penned by civil servant Sue Gray, out today
DfE must act ‘urgently’ on ‘ghost’ pupils after Covid
Commons Education Select Committee calls on government to tackle ‘elephant in the room’ after data shows 124,000 pupils have still not returned to the classroom
Attendance focus shows why good ventilation in schools still matters
While ventilation was the big topic in the pandemic to reduce infection risks, academics say that if the government want to focus on boosting attendance to further minimise disruption to education, it’s a topic that should be on the agenda again
Will reducing teacher contact time prove too difficult?
Scotland’s efforts to reduce the contact hours of its teachers have hit complexities that are stalling the process and sending a warning to other countries, finds Henry Hepburn
More than 2 in 3 art teachers ‘considering leaving’ profession
Art and design teachers are unhappy with workload and lack of subject-specific training, finds survey
Tuesday
Schools ‘face major costs increase’ under grievance change, warns union boss
Ministers plan to alter employment law to allow staff to be represented by organisations other than unions in disputes
DfE SEND review ‘about saving money’, MPs told
IPSEA chief executive Ali Fiddy warns that government SEND plans could end up diluting the rights of families and pupils
Zahawi: Scottish education in ‘freefall’ and has ‘no plan’
Westminster education secretary happy to share education ‘best practice’ with Scottish government, he tells MPs
DfE hiring more attendance advisers to ‘challenge’ schools
£500-a-day adviser scheme to be expanded, despite half of multi-academy trusts rejecting the help offered
