ICYMI: A council cited as a 'success' story of the government’s controversial £1 billion SEND spending bailout scheme for mostly clearing its deficit is facing a £4.5 million black hole schoolsweek.co.uk/send-safety-...

A social media post by the Department for Education lauding its achievements appears to have gone viral for the wrong reasons, as sector leaders slammed it as 'smug' and 'tone deaf' schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-social-m...

This post from DfE is going down like a sack of spuds. Many teachers replying with their experience from the frontline right now…

Interesting analysis by NFER today looking at the characteristics of 'high-SEND' schools...

Edu committee chair @helenhayes.bsky.social has written to ed sec @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social asking for more info on the SEND reforms "co-creation" process. ⤵️ Announcing the delay last month, BP decided to have a "further period of co-creation" to test proposals w parents, educators, experts.

🤖 Ministers will use AI to set minimum attendance targets for every school in England Targets will not be published, or be given to Ofsted - but failure to improve will result in a referral to RISE teams schoolsweek.co.uk/ai-to-set-mi...

📋Ofsted's new education inspections have launched this week, and I'm keen to find out what leaders and teachers make of them. If your school's inspected this week or next and you're up for sharing your thoughts, anonymously or otherwise, please do get in touch! Email in bio.

Sir Alan Carr

Exclusive: Ofqual will not publish detailed modelling that informed a key curriculum review policy to reduce the time pupils spend taking GCSE exams by around three hours schoolsweek.co.uk/ofqual-wont-...

📢 Join us on Friday for Under the CAR Bonnet - a free Schools Week webinar on the curriculum and assessment review We'll interview review chair Professor Becky Francis to get behind the headlines of her landmark report, followed by audience Q&A Sign up: events.zoom.us/ev/AofhjYOxI...

Breaking: The government is proposing sweeping reforms to progress 8, the main league table measure for secondary schools, in a bid to boost arts take-up – and will ditch the EBacc from this academic year https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-ignores-francis-review-and-proposes-sweeping-progress-8-reform/

The government will introduce a new national curriculum from 2028, scrap the EBacc league table measure, make citizenship compulsory in primary schools and force all secondaries to offer triple science GCSE https://schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curriculum-to-be-introduced-in-2028-as-review-published/

🚨The curriculum review is out! First: Government commits to a new national curriculum in 2028. Will also replace year 6 writing test, new oracy framework, financial literacy in primary Our news story on the government's response to the key review findings: (1/4) schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curricul...

Professor Becky Francis has published her final curriculum and assessment review report. She spoke to Schools Week about some of its key recommendations and the thinking behind them https://schoolsweek.co.uk/interview-becky-francis-on-the-big-ideas-in-her-curriculum-review/

Breaking: Teacher pay should rise by 6.5 per cent over the next three years, government has said in its evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-suggests-6-5-teacher-pay-rise-but-over-three-years/

Does the post-16 white paper have the right answers, or even the right questions? @nickhillman.bsky.social and I join @tom-richmond.com to chew over what it has to say on quality, collaboration and specialisation in the latest episode of Inside Your Ed insideyoured.buzzsprout.com/1874905/epis...

Government says rates of severe absence won't be tackled 'overnight' as new data shows more increases for disadvantaged pupils schoolsweek.co.uk/severe-absen...

We've tried to get some clarity on all this from the Department for Education - but they've mostly ignored our questions However I haven't noticed much difference in the education world. Lots of DfE people still speaking at events It also apparently doesn't affect bodies like Ofsted, Ofqual etc

There's pros and cons to this, I think - good to take more time to listen, as no one wants half-baked reforms. But I imagine those who have been living through the system for years will be sick of delays & getting flashbacks to previous gov. It took 1,274 days for their green paper to be published

Breaking: The schools white paper will be delayed until 'early in the new year', government has announced today, as ministers take more time to draw up controversial SEND reforms schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-whit...

📈 Grammar schools are back dominating the top of GCSE league tables after the progress 8 performance measure was put on pause for two years

⌛ The government will provide an update on paused free school projects 'later this year', ministers have said Here's what we learned after ministers took questions from MPs yesterday 🔽

Yesterday's Covid Inquiry revealed former education secretary Gavin Williamson told the Prime Minister he was 'f****d off' over decisions made without him during the pandemic schoolsweek.co.uk/williamson-t...

I'm officially back from nine months of maternity leave this week - what a lesson in patience, resilience and working on exhaustion that was and continues to be! It'd be great to catch up, so please do drop me a message if you want to chat.

On Saturday we’ll be taking part in the Ribbon Run in memory of our nephew Harry. He was sadly too poorly to make it earthside in 2018 and the @sandscharity.bsky.social was a huge support. We’d be so grateful as a family if you’re able to donate fundraising.sands.org.uk/fundraisers/...

On Saturday we’ll be taking part in the Ribbon Run in memory of our nephew Harry. He was sadly too poorly to make it earthside in 2018 and the @sandscharity.bsky.social was a huge support. We’d be so grateful as a family if you’re able to donate fundraising.sands.org.uk/fundraisers/...

Following Trump's comments blaming expectant mothers who take Tylenol for autism in their children, Lucy Jones asks if epidurals and caesareans will be next. Read more: https://bit.ly/4nIKxCA

Scoop: Mandatory reading test for year 8s (age 13) incoming in the schools white paper, due out this autumn DfE and Ofsted will have access to school results, but data will only be reported nationally and we understand it won't prompt intervention/early inspection

Like genuinely, how did he get here? This claim is so debunked, how is this announcement anything but further trying to control women’s bodies and ableism?

In light of recent news, we'd like to highlight that the MHRA has confirmed that taking paracetamol during pregnancy remains safe and there is no evidence that it causes autism in children. buff.ly/MQGedTS If you're unsure about taking any medication, talk to your GP, health visitor, or midwife.

With a month of maternity leave to go, and finally feeling more like myself, I’ve been reflecting on… how normalised it is you’re supposed to just sit on the floor at playgroups and classes when you’re a few weeks/months postpartum?! I was in the fog then but looking back it’s madness

Yes, we’ve seen this film before… under the last government

Breaking: Former council leader Georgia Gould has been appointed education minister, with ex-schools minister Catherine McKinnell departing during Sir Keir Starmer’s front bench reshuffle schoolsweek.co.uk/reshuffle-ge...

This piece struck a chord with me. When I was pregnant the Instagram algorithm served me an intense number of stories on miscarriage, children disabled by traumatic births and mothers and children dying of cancer. Something is going wrong when it targets like that www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

What's his evidence for this inflammatory claim? Can't see any reference to it in the story... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

2025 is complete then. X www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Next week I'll be taking a break from playing my daughter 'Shake It Off' on repeat to get back to the Schools Week news desk for a few days. If you're free for a well needed catch-up on Tuesday or Wednesday, just drop me a message. In the meantime, here's a very delicious baby leg.

The SEND reforms were always going to be tricky, but politically this is what Labour are now up against

I’ll be at the Festival of Education on Friday (with my baby daughter in tow!) if anyone is around and wants to catch up / hug the baby - just drop me a DM

Shout out to the @royalalberthall.bsky.social - I emailed ahead of Sophie EB gig tonight asking if I can bring expressed breast milk in. They then offered to store in the fridge for me during the show meaning it doesn’t go to waste. Much respect

SENCos will be central to plans to make mainstream schools more inclusive. But they're burning out. Schools Week investigates ... schoolsweek.co.uk/burnt-out-an...

Finding this hard to believe really, very honoured. Thanks so much to everyone who has trusted me over the past few years. SEND support is such a huge issue and glad it’s being recognised. Normal reporting service resumes when I’m back at my desk later this year

Breaking: Officials are considering shaking up the system of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) that would likely lead to a narrowing or new structure of support as part of major SEND reforms, a government adviser has said schoolsweek.co.uk/ehcp-shake-u...

Reform now controls Kent council, which has a huge high needs deficit. In this story, Farage targets diversity and climate change initiatives. But you can’t help but wonder what it means for SEND once they actually get in the door www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

This miracle worker should be eligible to receive the 30 hours childcare funding

📢 Journalism job klaxon Senior reporter, @schoolsweek.bsky.social £30,000-£42,000 DoE Would suit an experienced local newspaper reporter or someone covering general news for the nationals who wants to specialise DMs open if you want an informal chat www.journalism.co.uk/media-jobs/s...

This graph is from the October 2024 NAO SEND report The "£1bn for SEND" in Labour's Nov 24 budget will be added to the DSG in April - but the benefit will have been chewed up by the unexpected deterioration in FY 24-25 Scrawled red circles show the revisions to DSG actuals and forecast out-turn

This! Also I’ve found myself going to cafes I know have some comfortable seating, as most chairs ruin your back when breastfeeding. Long live the cafe sofas www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/...

Tried to explain to our newborn why this is cool, but the crying prevailed! Very honoured to be shortlisted and grateful to anyone who has helped or trusted me with their story about the SEND system