Education & Training news

• Teenage victim of fatal Wirral bus crash named as Jessica Baker, 15

  29-09-2023 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Schoolgirl and driver died after vehicle overturned on M53A 15-year-old schoolgirl and a bus driver have died after a motorway crash in Cheshire left several other children in hospital.On Friday night the girl was named as Jessica Baker by Merseyside police. Earlier they said a total of 58 people were involved in the incident including the two fatalities. Continue reading...
  
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• Sheer stupidity is a threat to our scientific progress | Letters

  29-09-2023 19:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Prof AM Celâl Şengör, Damian Pattinson and Jack Whalen respond to Giorgio Parisi’s article about how the world lost its trust in scientistsIt is impossible to disagree with Giorgio Parisi’s deeply felt concern (Is it TikTok or global crisis? How the world lost its trust in scientists like me, 25 September). A part of the blame must be shared with schools and universities. During my lifetime (I was born in 1955) the quality of instruction has declined at an acceleratin
  
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• Speech: Minister Halfon's speech at the Council of Europe

  29-09-2023 11:14 via gov.uk
  
  In a speech at the Council of Europe standing conference of ministers of education, Minister Halfon discussed the the renewal of the civic mission of education.
  
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• University students more at risk of depression than non-students – study

  29-09-2023 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Higher levels of poor mental health in England could be linked to worries about money and academic achievement, findings suggestUniversity students are more at risk of depression and anxiety than their peers who go straight into work, according to a study, suggesting mental health may deteriorate due to the financial strain of higher education.The research is the first to find evidence of slightly higher levels of depression and anxiety among students, and challenges earlier work suggesting that
  
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• Rishi Sunak attacks Labour plan for VAT on private school fees

  28-09-2023 20:46 via theguardian.com
  
  PM accuses Keir Starmer of stoking a ‘class war’ and Tories seek to portray Labour as flip-flopping on policyRishi Sunak has accused Keir Starmer of stoking a “class war” by maintaining his vow to add VAT on to private school fees if Labour wins the next election, a move that Sunak said would “punish” affected parents.The prime minister said Labour’s approach “illustrates that they don’t understand the aspiration of families like my parents w
  
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• Rishi Sunak refuses to endorse Suella Braverman’s claim multiculturalism has failed – as it happened

  28-09-2023 19:20 via theguardian.com
  
  This blog is now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage hereThe former SNP minister Fergus Ewing has claimed his party no longer stands up for Scotland as he was suspended for a week after a disciplinary vote by fellow MSPs.The sanction, which was backed by 48 votes to nine with four abstentions, came about after Ewing voted against the SNP-Green government in a no-confidence motion against the Scottish Green minister Lorna Slater.The SNP I joined would never have asked me, or in
  
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• Loose language leaves Labour accused of flip-flop on private schools

  28-09-2023 19:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Shadow ministers used ‘charitable status’ as shorthand for main goal of introducing tax changesHas Labour flip-flopped on stripping private schools in England of their charitable status? Senior party figures from Keir Starmer down have certainly been guilty of using loose language, conflating such a move with their plan to apply VAT to private school fees and other tax breaks.Starmer said in July last year: “When I say we are going to pay for kids to catch up at school, I also
  
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• Teenage boy sentenced after stabbing teacher at Tewkesbury school

  28-09-2023 17:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Fifteen-year-old given 14-month detention and training order over attack on Jamie SansomA 15-year-old boy who stabbed a teacher in a school corridor after telling friends he wanted to kill somebody and researched how to buy firearms in the UK has been given a 14-month detention and training order.The teenager covered his face with a snood and a hooded top before attacking Jamie Sansom with a 6in (15cm) kitchen knife. Continue reading...
  
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• Parents: have you been affected by nursery closures in the UK?

  28-09-2023 14:14 via theguardian.com
  
  We want to speak to parents of nursery-age children, as well as providers, who have been affected by closuresWe want to speak to parents and early years providers in the UK who have been affected by nursery closures.If you run a nursery that has had to shut recently, tell us about why – what were the factors behind the closure? Continue reading...
  
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• Decision: Improvement notice issued to Hull city council

  28-09-2023 11:00 via gov.uk
  
  An improvement notice issued due to poor performance in the council's children's social care services.
  
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• Transparency data: Period product scheme: management information

  28-09-2023 10:30 via gov.uk
  
  A summary of management information collected on the Department for Education’s period product scheme.
  
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• Official Statistics: Planned local authority and school expenditure: 2023 to 2024 financial year

  28-09-2023 10:30 via gov.uk
  
  Local authority spending plans for education, children's services and social care.
  
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• Official Statistics: Employer skills survey: 2022

  28-09-2023 10:30 via gov.uk
  
  Official statistics on vacancies, skills gaps and training, from the employer skills survey 2022.
  
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• Press release: Thousands more pupils to receive support to improve attendance

  28-09-2023 01:15 via gov.uk
  
  Government announces four new attendance hubs, widening the support to a total of 400,000 pupils.
  
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• Labour backs down from plan to strip private schools of charitable status

  27-09-2023 23:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Party says policy of charging fee-paying schools VAT remains, and ‘doesn’t require’ removing statusPrivate schools would retain some of their tax breaks under a Labour government, after the party backed down on its pledge to strip them of charitable status.The party said it no longer needs to end the charitable status of private schools to achieve its policy of charging 20% VAT on fees and ending business rates relief in England, as first reported by the i. Continue reading...
  
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• Raac: Parents protest as minister visits Durham school

  27-09-2023 16:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Parents say the lesson disruption for pupils at St Leonard's Catholic School is "like Covid times".
  
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• Scotland schools strike: Strikes at Scottish schools go into second day

  27-09-2023 07:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Thousands of pupils will stay at home on the second day of Unison's three-day strike in a dispute over pay.
  
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• UK university students facing ‘unprecedented rent rises’

  27-09-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Maintenance loan failing to keep pace with rising rents, which have jumped by more than 8% since last yearUniversity students in the UK are facing “unprecedented rent rises” amid record demand for accommodation, while the value of the maintenance loan designed to cover living costs stagnates, according to a report.Many students are struggling to find affordable rooms, as rents have jumped by more than 8% overall this year compared with 2022-23, a survey by the real estate services fi
  
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• ‘It’s quite depressing’: the UK students struggling to find accommodation

  27-09-2023 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Three students share their experience of trying to find somewhere to live as academic year beginsAs freshers’ events get into swing for Manchester Metropolitan University students this week, mechanical engineering student Karl still doesn’t know where he will be calling home for the first year of his studies.After Karl gained a place on his course through clearing, he quickly realised securing housing would be a struggle. The 20-year-old was told by his university that they wouldn&rs
  
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• Fine parents for school absence in England only as last resort, MPs urge

  27-09-2023 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Commons education committee report also says mental health struggles should be accepted as valid reason for missing schoolMental health difficulties should be a valid reason for children to miss school while fines aimed at parents should be kept as a “last resort”, according to MPs on the Commons education committee.The committee’s report into rising levels of persistent absence among disadvantaged families in England warns that fining parents for absences may be less of a dete
  
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• Strike by support staff closes hundreds of Scottish schools

  26-09-2023 19:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Three-day action over cuts begins amid confusion caused by split between unions on how to handle new offerThe Scottish government has been warned to anticipate more school strikes as thousands of pupils spent the first of three days at home on Tuesday.Last-minute talks over the weekend had failed to halt the strike action by school support staff, closing hundreds of schools in 24 of the country’s 32 local authorities. Continue reading...
  
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• UCU strike dates: Which universities are affected?

  26-09-2023 16:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Five days of strike action will fall in Freshers' Week for many students.
  
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• ‘This is not a Trump-y, conservative education’: Florida’s controversial new SAT alternative

  26-09-2023 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Will the Classic Learning Test bring ‘truth and beauty’ back into education – or is it fueling Ron DeSantis’s extremist agenda?From the “don’t say gay” law, which bans discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom, to laws helping parents challenge school library books they oppose, Ron DeSantis has turned Florida’s public schools into a culture war battleground – and the implementation of his laws has often veered into absurd territory.About 3
  
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• Open consultation: Further education initial teacher training reform

  26-09-2023 10:30 via gov.uk
  
  We are seeking views on proposed reforms to initial teacher training (ITT) for the further education (FE) sector, including changes to public funding.
  
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• Oxford and Cambridge academics to give £20,000 book advance to charities

  26-09-2023 08:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Prof Jason Arday and Dr Chantelle Jessica Lewis will support neuro-divergent working-class families.
  
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• Raac in schools: Education minister to attend St Leonard's Durham

  26-09-2023 07:48 via bbc.co.uk
  Pupils at St Leonard's Catholic School have been learning from home or been moved to other schools.
  
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• UK schools should teach all four nations’ histories, says David Olusoga

  26-09-2023 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Historian says ignorance and indifference between UK nations could pose biggest threat to future of unionSchools in the UK need to teach the history of all four nations, the historian David Olusoga has said, warning that ambivalence and indifference risk pulling apart the union.The fact that A-level pupils in England do not learn much about the history of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and vice versa means that Britons struggle to understand key contemporary political issues in the other n
  
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• ‘Whatever it takes’: students at 50 US high schools launch climate initiative

  25-09-2023 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Green New Deal for Schools demands districts teach climate justice, update buildings and plan for extreme weather Students at more than 50 high schools across the US are proposing a Green New Deal for Schools, demanding that their districts teach climate justice, create pathways to green jobs after graduation and plan for climate disasters, among other policies.The campaign, coordinated by the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate justice collective, is a reaction to rightwing efforts to ban or
  
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• Families should be informed if students struggling with mental health at university | Letter

  25-09-2023 18:46 via theguardian.com
  
  One reader says they had no idea their son was at rock-bottom and had been withdrawn from his courseThank you for your article highlighting the challenges to mental health that many students may face and outlining potential self-help measures (Self-care to support: how to look after your mental health at university, 15 September). Sadly, it came a little too late for my son, who attempted suicide in June. He was supposedly at the end of his second year of a physics degree, but, unbeknown to me,
  
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• Not even bankers wear ties and blazers any more. So why should schoolchildren? | André Spicer

  25-09-2023 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Suspended for wearing the wrong socks: there’s no way this is ‘preparing children for the world of work’André Spicer is professor of organisational behaviour at the Bayes Business School at City, University of LondonRecently I dropped off my daughter at school. Dressed up in a tie and blazer, she squirmed with discomfort in the late summer heat. After she disappeared through the gate, I headed to my office in the City of London. Walking from the tube station to my buildi
  
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• Unions ask Sunak for extra £4.4bn a year to fix crumbling schools in England

  25-09-2023 17:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Eight unions and school governors’ body write to PM saying Raac crisis highlights chronic underfundingUK politics live – latest updatesEight unions representing teachers and school workers, as well the body for governors, have written to Rishi Sunak demanding an extra £4.4bn annually to ensure buildings are safe for children in England.They say the crisis involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), which has cast a shadow over the start of the term and has been fou
  
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• University staff strike disrupts freshers' week

  25-09-2023 14:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The strikes are part of a long-running dispute by union members over pay and conditions.
  
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• The big idea: how do we make future generations smarter?

  25-09-2023 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Our education system needs a radical rethink for the digital ageWhat are some of the things humans can do that other animals can’t? Humans can count, humans can read, humans can reason. These advanced abilities are often attributed to the human brain as a piece of hardware. However, just as the usefulness of Excel, Google, or ChatGPT are not found in computer circuits but in the software that runs on them, most of our cognitive abilities are not the result of anatomical evolution either. T
  
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• Guidance: Apply to join the social work early career framework

  25-09-2023 13:00 via gov.uk
  
  How organisations can get involved with the early adopter programme to help develop a new early career framework for child and family social workers.
  
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• School strikes: No new pay offer despite weekend talks

  25-09-2023 11:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Unison members will strike across 24 council areas for three days from Tuesday in a dispute over pay.
  
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• The Guardian view on the rise in school absences: a crisis made in government | Editorial

  24-09-2023 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Headteachers need more support if they are to persuade reluctant pupils to come back Pretty much everyone with a stake in schools is worried about the current high rate of absenteeism: politicians, school leaders, academic researchers and many parents. The pattern has been clear for a while. The proportion of pupils classified as persistently absent (missing more than one in 10 lessons) has more than doubled in England since the pandemic. From 10.9% in 2018-19, it rose to 22.3% in 2022-23. Data
  
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• Put away your earplugs … UK children are ditching screeching recorders for mellifluous melodicas

  24-09-2023 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We’ve all suffered through cacophonous school assemblies. Now the rise of the melodica, as recently adopted by 20 Yorkshire primaries, could turn discord to harmonyA recorder at the mercy of a small child has often been regarded as a form of torture by parents. Now, as schools up and down Britain dust off their music stands, relief from teeth-clenching squeaks and whistles is at hand. The recorder, once the instrument of choice in schools, is being edged further from the classroom by a new
  
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• It isn’t just nursery kids who need a ‘settling in’ period | Eva Wiseman

  24-09-2023 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Settling children into their new school year makes a lot of sense, but wouldn’t it be nice if adults had the same period of adjustment to every stage in lifeI hope this email finds you well,” I read, and I look around, wondering. This is where it finds me, sneaking a look at my phone while crouched on the fire escape at my son’s new nursery, where I am in day two of his “settling in” period. For those who are not familiar with the way of the nursery, this is the wee
  
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• University ‘courts’ are failing students | Letters

  24-09-2023 07:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Colleges are ill-equipped to deal with allegations of assault and worseYour article demonstrates the immense risk that universities or other institutions take in adjudicating on allegations of behaviour meeting a criminal threshold (“Students accused in university rape hearings call in lawyers”, News). Universities have no adequate locus in which to judge criminal matters, nor the skills or necessary legal powers to investigate them. Of course, with the criminal justice system failin
  
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• Family of Black high school student files federal lawsuit over hair discrimination

  23-09-2023 21:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Darryl George, 17, of Texas has been serving an in-school suspension since 31 August for refusing to cut his dreadlocksThe family of a Black high school student in Texas who was suspended over his dreadlocks filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Saturday against the state’s governor and attorney general, alleging they failed to enforce a new law outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles.Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill high school in Mont Belvieu, has been serving an in-school
  
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• Rishi Sunak considers radical shake-up of A-levels

  22-09-2023 21:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rishi Sunak weighs up a new "British baccalaureate" qualification but no decisions have been taken.
  
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• ‘Eating away at democracy’: book bans in US public schools rise by a third in a year

  22-09-2023 16:37 via theguardian.com
  
  According to a new study by Pen America, there were 3,362 instances of book bans in school classrooms and libraries – with more than 40% of all cases occurring in FloridaBook bans in US public schools have increased by 33% over the last school year, according to a study by Pen America, a non-profit that supports freedom of expression in literature.The organisation recorded 3,362 instances of book bans in public school classrooms and libraries between July 2022 and June 2023, affecting 1,55
  
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• Rishi Sunak’s A-level overhaul plan is undeliverable gimmick, says Labour

  22-09-2023 15:38 via theguardian.com
  
  School leaders say funding and teacher shortages are far more urgent than a ‘British baccalaureate’UK politics live – latest updatesRishi Sunak’s desire to overhaul A-levels was denounced as an “undeliverable gimmick” by Labour and met with scepticism by school leaders who said funding and teacher shortages were far more urgent concerns.A series of news reports claim the prime minister is planning changes to what students in England are taught after GCSEs, inc
  
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• University staff union backs away from UK-wide strikes as support wanes

  22-09-2023 12:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Majority of campus branches refuse to take part in action scheduled for 25-29 SeptemberThe University and College Union has backed away from UK-wide strikes scheduled for next week, after two-thirds of campus branches declined to take part.Lecturers, librarians and technicians at just 42 universities will walk out for five days from Monday, out of the 140 expected to take part when the UCU announced the industrial action earlier this month. A further 10 universities will hold strike action on at
  
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• Thieves ‘can’t sell a Rembrandt on the normal market’: unlock your career potential with a degree in criminology

  22-09-2023 11:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Criminology is increasingly popular as a degree, with a wealth of career options, whether solving art crime or working in the criminal justice systemWhen Dr John Kerr worked for an art installation company in London, he helped transport highly valuable paintings by renowned artists such as Lucian Freud, Constable and Gainsborough. Pieces would be delivered to museums, offices, churches, galleries and private houses to be displayed or restored.“As an art installer, I’d be hanging pain
  
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• ‘Becoming a crime scene investigator was my dream’: do you have what it takes to be a CSI?

  22-09-2023 11:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Criminology, policing and psychology degrees are rising in popularity, and have the added attraction of equipping students with transferable skillsAs a nation, we can’t get enough of dramas that explore the psychological complexity of crime.When the finale of Happy Valley screened earlier this year, 7.5 million people tuned in to see Sgt Catherine Cawood (played by Sarah Lancashire) confront her nemesis Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). Line of Duty, Broadchurch and Luther are among other se
  
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• From disease prevention to energy saving: five ways AI is changing your day-to-day life

  22-09-2023 11:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Far from bringing about the end of civilisation, there are many opportunities for AI to improve our lot, as long as it’s regulated appropriately, says an IT expertEveryone seems to have an opinion on artificial intelligence (AI) these days, especially since the release of the AI chatbot ChatGPT in November last year. Predictions as to where this technology might lead vary dramatically – depending on which expert you believe, AI will either add trillions of dollars to global economic
  
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• Do you have the right personality to be a psychologist? Take our quiz to find out

  22-09-2023 11:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Are you a people person who pays attention to detail and has a willingness to help others? If so, a career in psychology could be for youIt can be tricky to sum up what makes a great psychologist. After all, there are many different roles within psychology, with professionals working in fields as varied as sport, education, clinical settings, research and more. Even so, there are certain personality traits that are desirable across the board, among them empathy, curiosity and open-mindedness.Tak
  
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• Warwick graduate shares student survival tips on TikTok

  22-09-2023 07:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hilary Odun says student finance is an "underserved market" and hopes her viewers "learn something new".
  
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• South Korea passes law to protect rights of teachers after mass protests over abuse from parents

  22-09-2023 05:10 via theguardian.com
  
  New laws come after weeks of protests sparked by a series of teacher suicides said to be linked to malicious complaints from parentsSouth Korea has passed a set of legal revisions aimed at improving the rights of teachers in schools, following weeks of protests sparked by a series of teacher suicides said to be linked to malicious complaints from parents.The four bills, collectively known as the “teacher rights restoration bills” and passed at the national assembly on Thursday, repre
  
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