Education & Training news

The Guardian view on teacher shortages: signs of a profession in crisis | Editorial

26-03-2023 19:30

Teachers are buckling under the pressure of workloads and the Ofsted regime. Fixing this will start with raising salariesDo more with less. This has been the government’s expectation of every public sector employee since 2010. In education, this has led to stagnant wages and unsustainable workloads, compounded by a punitive Ofsted inspection process that heaps stress upon teachers and can condemn a school to failure in a single sentence. Many are leaving the profession: vacancies in Englan

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Life online is a choking, oppressive smog. Teenagers need a place they can breathe | Emma Beddington

26-03-2023 15:00

A new study shows more than half of teens spend their free time in their bedroom. But we are offering them nothing away from their screensOn the rack of magazines by the supermarket tills, I’m always brought up short by Teen Breathe magazine. Don’t get me wrong, it looks great – well-designed and full of positive, interesting features. But I’m always momentarily incredulous: teenagers need to be reminded to breathe, spend time in nature, journal or mindfully colour mandal

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The teacher who saved my life: Terri White goes back to school

26-03-2023 13:00

As a young child, Terri White’s home was a place of sexual violence and fear. But there was always one place she felt safe: school. Here she confronts her past – and meets the teacher who never let her downI think I’m going to be sick. I know I’m going to cry. I’ve just driven across the Pennines to Chesterfield, the town I was born in and the place that I left at 18. The first stop today on my homecoming trip is the most important. And six minutes away, I notice my

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BBC rejects charge of elitist Oxbridge bias in University Challenge

26-03-2023 11:44

Corporation denies breach of impartiality rules by ‘rigging’ show in favour of Oxford and CambridgeThe BBC has rejected charges of elitism aimed at its University Challenge quiz show and defended allowing separate Oxford and Cambridge colleges to enter the contest while limiting other universities to one entry each.The long-running show, which will broadcast a quarter-final match on Monday in its 52nd series, typically includes at least 10 entries from Oxbridge colleges, with the rem

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‘My colleague had a heart attack in front of me’: horrific toll of Ofsted inspections

26-03-2023 08:00

In the wake of Ruth Perry’s suicide, headteachers speak out about the stress and fear that Ofsted visits can causeSenior teacher Rob Dyson* says his last Ofsted inspection remains a “trauma”. Drinking tea in the staff room of the academy in the north of England after the inspector left, having delivered the verdict that the school had plummeted from “outstanding” to “requires improvement”, he says everyone was “ashen faced”. Noticing that the

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