Education committee chair @helenhayes.bsky.social has written to Ofcom with urgent concerns about Grok: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

But why? 🤷 www.tes.com/magazine/new...

First Ofsted report cards are out. Of the initial batch: *1 in 7 were rated 'exceptional' in at least 1 area *None received the lowest grade *Few “needs attention” grades were issued *'Inclusion' attracted the highest grades More here: www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Since it's starter pack season again, here's some reporters who report on social affairs, poverty, public services etc. Some of them post here more than others go.bsky.app/Hp9iayA

All the details about how MATs will be inspected under plans outlined in a @tesmagazine.bsky.social scoop earlier this week. By @ellencph.bsky.social

EXCL: @danielkebedeneu.bsky.social warns Labour govt is on a "collision course" ➡️ Govt risks doing SEND reform "on the cheap" ➡️ Private special schools should be "nationalised" ➡️ Under Reform, teachers would be "managers of AI programs" Full interview below:

Is it too hard for schools to exclude pupils? If so, why are permanent exclusions at a record high? It’s a complex picture that’s become particularly thorny amid the SEND crisis, finds @ktorm-social1.bsky.social in this brilliant analysis:

Exclusive: The government is pushing ahead with plans to introduce multi-academy trust inspections, which could start in the 2027-28 academic year

'Impossible' to take on special schools due to deficits, warns MAT. Meanwhile, the DfE has “failed to articulate a coherent position” on SEND. And Ofsted's “hurried" new framework has “drained the morale and courage of leaders”. Strong sector views via @tesmagazine.bsky.social's MAT Tracker 👇

Excl: Heads must “think carefully” about phone policies under Ofsted’s new inspection framework, chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver says in a letter to shadow education sec Laura Trott seen by @tesmagazine.bsky.social. This comes after she urged Ofsted to fail schools where students have phones.

Excl: Google DeepMind is looking to develop a version of its AI chatbot Gemini to be used in schools. It will be trained on the revised national curriculum and meet government expectations for safety in education.

The exam board “failed to identify and effectively manage a risk of inconsistent grading standards" in qualifications including GCSE English Language.

Falling pupil numbers have led to calls for a complete overhaul to the way schools are funded. But would the alternatives be any better? Brilliant analysis of the different options by @jabedahmed.bsky.social:

Last week the government indicated that creating more specialist places in mainstream can bring down SEND spending but sector leaders and heads have warned that this won't deliver significant savings in the short term and needs more than just capital funding. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

For anyone wondering, no, the government will not be providing any additional investment for digital exams. This is despite the chief regulator himself warning that schools had "weak" IT infrastructure...

"My view is that England should have no more than 400 trusts and that we should try to achieve this by 2030" Agree with him or not, this is very thought-provoking indeed from Mark McCourt - many in policy circles do agree, but tend to whisper it... www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Alternative provision (AP) leaders are urging ministers to use the long-awaited Schools White Paper to shift the sector’s focus towards supporting pupils before, rather than after, exclusion. My long read for @tesmagazine.bsky.social speaking to leaders in the sector. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

“RISE feels like it’s been launched before the real-world costs were understood…It’s pretty clear the funding assumptions were off.” Does the DfE have enough money for its school improvement plan? Investigation by @jabedahmed.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Parent allegations against teachers have increased by a third in just one year, @edaptuk.bsky.social data shared exclusively with Tes reveals

SEND area inspection reports show that Long waits for assessments, diagnosis and health services have been repeatedly highlighted for areas found to have systemic failings in special educational needs provision. My analysis for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

“You mark your own homework. It’s not checked.” Safeguarding leads warn the “onerous” audits that schools have to submit to councils aren’t improving student safety and duplicate work done by trusts. Is it time to drop them? Excl by @ktorm-social1.bsky.social

I've long been worried the government's "school readiness" goal risks widening the early years attainment gap - because it doesn't include a specific goal for lower income young children or the gap itself, + it's likely easier to push better off kids over the line - and the gap is widening.

UPDATE: OBR has corrected its earlier estimate of a possible 1.7 per cent cut to per pupil funding and revised it to a 4.9 per cent possible cut, but DfE says OBR is "incorrect"

Are EHCPs driving the SEND crisis or a symptom of it? Is SEND demand in 2025 any larger than it was in 2010? Will scrapping EHCPs actually achieve anything productive? One of the best analyses of the SEND crisis I have read from Margaret Mulholland www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Slim pickings for schools in today's Budget - and a major cost pressure potentially arising from SEND changes.

Politicians love to talk about their time in '90s portakabins - a memory I share. Did schools really have more of them back then or is this a myth? FACT CHECK anyone?

Follow @tesmagazine.bsky.social school funding reporter @jabedahmed.bsky.social for the latest on today's Budget 👇

“The consequences are going to be devastating.” Ahead of today’s Budget, a council warns it faces a £183 million black hole due to SEND costs, and is having (along with many other LAs) to make “impossible financial decisions”. By @johngroberts.bsky.social

Exclusive: The NAHT heads' union has lost its second bid to challenge Ofsted in court over the way it brought in new report card-style inspections. By @johngroberts.bsky.social for @tesmagazine.bsky.social

Teachers on mat leave get 22 weeks less full pay than many other public sector workers - including DfE officials. What effect does this have on retention, and is it likely to improve? Important article by @cerysturner.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

The government is in danger of overlooking the importance of what is taught in special schools and needs to focus more on students who cannot access the national curriculum, special-school leaders have warned. Exclusive by @johngroberts.bsky.social

If schools really want to cut exam time by a similar amount to that recommended in the CAR, they could just switch exam boards, the Ofqual chief has said. He also, however, stressed that most schools don't choose exam boards on this basis, and he "never" did.

Which group is right? 👀

Exclusive: The government’s minimum per-pupil funding level for next year will leave schools facing real-terms cuts, warns expert

Some schools have been “a little bit suspicious” of the DfE’s RISE programme, but there’s lots of “anecdotal positivity”, and early signs of impact should be known by Xmas, the head of the DfE’s regions group said today.

Reform deputy leader Richard Tice claims there is a 'crisis of over-diagnosis' of neurodiverse conditions, while ex-Ofsted chief Baroness Spielman says dyslexia just means 'bad at reading'

💥Revealed: Serious doubt cast over the government’s plan to judge schools on their enrichment offer. Inc new @teachertapp.bsky.social findings commissioned by @tesmagazine.bsky.social

How do you persuade single academy trusts with some of the best attainment scores in England to join a MAT, if they’re managing ok financially? And do MATs even want them? @jabedahmed.bsky.social speaks to heads and trust leaders to find out.

The new GCSE in AI could quickly become out of date, the chief of England’s largest exam board has warned. Exclusive by @cerysturner.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Plus more on the role that @oaknational.bsky.social is expected to play.

🌍 A grammar school in London is to become the first state school to open a fee-paying school overseas…

🚨The govt will scrap the EBacc, cut GCSE exam time by up to three hours & make sure every school meets "enrichment benchmarks". Here are all the key proposals from the curriculum and assessment review, plus which reforms the government has accepted so far:

I'm not aware of anything specifying that schools have to stay open until 3.30pm, as long as they commit to 32.5 hours... www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

“We had one pupil permanently excluded for persistent disruptive behaviour on just the third day of the academic year.” Are pupils being excluded for behaviour that’s just “a bit cheeky”? And would tightening the definition of “persistent disruptive behaviour” help? By @johngroberts.bsky.social

Schools will need to find savings from their budgets to deliver the pay award, according to the DfE’s pay review submission. Leaders will need to be “proactive” about making the most of their budgets to achieve this (in case they weren’t already…)

💷Teacher pay: 'Considering the projected trajectory of average earnings growth across the wider economy, it is appropriate that pay awards over the next three years are lower than those in the past few years'

“There is no support for heads to have zero tolerance.” My full interview with shadow education secretary Laura Trott below 👇

Story here: www.tes.com/magazine/new...

“We need a plan...we need a perm sec & we need better ministers & quite frankly we need an agenda of reform. We can’t go on like this." If it felt to heads/teachers like the DfE was in utter chaos during Covid, this inquiry's doing...nothing whatsoever to dispel that.

If heads pitch this too high, it could count against them. Too low, and it could become "self-fulfilling", warns @pepediiasio.bsky.social More in @cerysturner.bsky.social exclusive below: