Post-vote news and opinion

Four things for education to consider in the wake of Brexit

The return of grammar schools, shortages of language teachers? TES news editor William Stewart takes a look at what leaving the European Union could mean for education.

Welcome to Project Sorrow

Last week, this Dutch principal of a Liverpool secondary wrote about the need to support EU nationals working and studying in Britain’s schools. Today, he reacts to the news that his worst fears have been made reality.

Don’t let Brexit delay the apprenticeship levy, warns the AELP

The Association of Colleges also speaks of uncertainty over funding for the FE sector after the UK votes to leave the European Union.

How should teachers tackle the vote for Brexit?

Teachers face a difficult job of explaining the EU referendum to students - here’s how the profession is reacting to the challenge.

‘We should remind students that while we may not be in Europe, Europe is most certainly in us and in our school’

Headteacher Geoff Barton argues that schools have a pivotal role to keep the EU alive for young people.

Pre-vote news and opinion

How will the EU referendum affect schools?

Ahead of the vote, Jonathan Simons gazes into his crystal ball and looks at what a leave or a remain result could mean for the nation’s schools.

Remains of the day

According to an exclusive YouGov poll for TES, 70 per cent of teachers want to stay in the European Union and more than half think that a Brexit would damage their pupils’ futures.

A matter of life and breadth

Miriam González Durántez, an international lawyer and panellist for a TES post-vote online debate, says we all have not only the right, but also the duty to step into the referendum debate, get informed and vote. The result of the 23 June referendum on the European Union, she writes, will shape not only the future of the UK and Europe as a whole - and possibly also of the world - but importantly, the future of your students. 

Polish up your thinking

Teachers are right to be thinking of their students, says TES editor Ann Mroz. When the country goes to the polls next Thursday, it is not for ourselves that we should be voting, but for our children and everyone else’s children. The future is not ours; it is theirs.

Risky business

Brexit offers no guarantees on the immigration status or the employment status of members of staff and pupils who are EU citizens. To ensure schools are prepared to support their EU nationals, Hans Van Mourik Broekman, Dutch national and principal of Liverpool College, recommends that every school conducts a thorough risk assessment for Brexit.

Brexit light

Kevin Rooney, head of social science at Queens’ School, Bushey, explains why it’s hard to work in education and argue that you want Brexit. He says that he has to explain to colleagues that this isn’t about xenophobia - it’s about the right to democratic self-determination.

When the kids are united

Secretary of state for education Nicky Morgan and former schools minister Jim Knight explain why they’re not surprised an exclusive survey has revealed the majority of teachers want to remain in Europe.

Brexit wounds

A majority of teachers and other education professionals fear that Scottish education will be damaged if the UK leaves the European Union, an exclusive TESS poll suggests.

Don’t just look at the numbers

Your EU referendum vote speaks volumes to our young people and your decision in this week’s referendum needs to be based on more than economics, says Edinburgh-based German national TESS reporter Julia Belgutay.

Take the next Brexit

Unconvinced by the economic argument to remain and the immigration argument to leave, Toby Young, journalist and author, and chief executive of the West London Free School, says that if we want to remain true to the ideal of democracy, we can’t succumb to Project Fear and must vote for Brexit.

An engaging referendum

Regardless of who wins this week, one teacher says he sees the heated discussions around the referendum as an opportunity to engage his students with politics and argues that all teachers should use the EU debate to instil a love of democracy in young people.

Pupil voice

In a debate on the European Union referendum held in the state rooms of the House of Commons in London, pupils voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. 

Facts, not fear

Responding to a piece by a former ASCL general secretary calling for teachers to defend to EU, Claire Fox, the director of the Institute of Ideas, says teachers should take the lead in dispelling the myths associated with simplistic caricatures about themselves, their pupils and their parents and Europe itself. 

‘Brexit will make the job of teaching more difficult’

The Leave campaign has given permission for intolerance and racism in society. This makes schools’ role in promoting respect and mutual understanding that much harder, says John Dunford, the former general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders union.

‘Politicians urge schools to promote compassion. What decency or compassion has there been in the EU debate?’

Schools have a moral purpose to encourage children to be honest: not to lie, exaggerate or distort. But the Brexit debate has shown that not all adults live by these values, headteacher Bernard Trafford argues.

Schools are invited to tune in to a live-streamed “EU Referendum: What Now?” panel discussion at 11am on 30 June, hosted by Speakers for Schools in partnership with TES. During the debate, chaired by ITV’s Robert Peston, students can watch live and ask questions over social media. Panellists include Miriam González Durántez, journalist Owen Jones and novelist Dreda Say Mitchell. Tweet your questions to @tes and @speakrs4schools