Education & Training news

• Japanese city to use robots to tackle rise in truancy

  06-09-2023 22:16
  
  Schools in Kumamoto have purchased two mechanical assistants to help children regain confidence in dealing with teachers and classmates A city in Japan is tackling a rise in truancy with the help of a robot assistant that officials hope will encourage absentee children to attend classes remotely and eventually coax them back to school.Two robots equipped with microphones, speakers and cameras are expected to appear in classrooms in November in Kumamoto, south-west Japan, according to the Mainich
  
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• Three-quarters of schools hit by concrete crisis are in Tory areas

  06-09-2023 19:07
  
  Guardian analysis of newly published government list shows that 109 of the 147 affected schools are in Conservative constituenciesFull list of the Raac-affected schools in EnglandThree-quarters of the schools in England listed by the government as being affected by the schools concrete crisis are in Conservative-held areas, it has emerged.As education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, continued to come under fire over their handling of the problem, the fallout for m
  
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• UK university staff poised to strike for five days in freshers’ week

  06-09-2023 18:52
  
  UCU members vote for action between 25-29 September over pay and conditions but end marking boycottUniversity staff say they will strike during freshers’ week unless employers agree to discuss their demands over pay and working conditions.Lecturers, librarians and technicians are among staff from 136 universities, members of the University and College Union (UCU), who plan to strike for five days at the start of the academic year, from 25 to 29 September. Continue reading...
  
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• List of schools with safety-risk concrete revealed as Sunak denies cutting repairs budget – as it happened

  06-09-2023 18:52
  
  Keir Starmer likens the Tories to ‘cowboy builders’ as the PM insists the government acted decisively in response to the problemSchools in England affected by Raac: the full government listThe DfE list shows pupils at 24 schools across England will receive some remote learning because of the concrete crisis, with four schools switching to fully remote learning, PA Media reports.And the list shows 19 schools where the start of term has had to be delayed as a result of collapse-prone c
  
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• Is this checkmate for Rishi Sunak? | Brief letters

  06-09-2023 18:51
  
  Sunak screwed across the board | Animal behaviour | Spot the ball | Fresher ingredients | Raac in Ancient RomeAnother German word for Rishi Sunak’s situation (Letters, 3 September) is zugzwang, a term in chess for a poor position, where any move would make the current bad situation even worse.Christopher PankhurstWinchester • Zoe Williams’ father, who, she writes, hated Carl Jung (5 September) would have appreciated the cartoon in which one rat says to another: “I’ve
  
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• Building work was scrapped at 17 schools with RAAC

  06-09-2023 18:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Seventeen schools which have had crumbly concrete confirmed had building work cancelled in 2010.
  
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• School avoidance: 'I was crying, screaming and shouting in the car'

  06-09-2023 17:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 12-year-old girl says anxiety caused her to miss out on most of the last academic year at school.
  
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• What can crumbling concrete schools expect next?

  06-09-2023 17:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A school which has already dealt with crumbling concrete tells how it was forced to close overnight.
  
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• ‘I am hugely worried’: parents on the Raac disruption in schools

  06-09-2023 16:36
  
  Four parents describe the impact of the start-of-term school building closures in EnglandAfter the government ordered 147 schools to immediately shut buildings made with aerated concrete that is liable to sudden collapse, potentially thousands of pupils in England are missing out on a return to school this week or are beginning the term taking lessons remotely or in temporary buildings.Twenty-four schools across the country will use some remote learning because of the concrete crisis. Ministers
  
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• Scotland school strikes called off ahead of new pay offer

  06-09-2023 16:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Industrial action that could have shut schools across much of Scotland has been halted by the GMB union.
  
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• The good news? Raac isn’t always dangerous. The bad news: it’s not just in schools | Chris Goodier

  06-09-2023 16:29
  
  Alarmist reports won’t help in the lengthy task of locating and treating buildings it’s in. We will be hearing about it for a whileChris Goodier is professor of construction engineering and materials at Loughborough UniversityEvents have moved rapidly since the Health and Safety Executive announced on Thursday that Raac concrete was now “life-expired”, and “liable to collapse with little or no notice”. The Department for Education (DfE) has moved to close more
  
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• RAAC crisis: Sunak defends school record after cowboy-builder jibe

  06-09-2023 15:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rishi Sunak says he acted "decisively" on unsafe RAAC concrete, as he faces Labour's leader at PMQs.
  
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• RAAC schools list shows those with buildings affected by unsafe concrete

  06-09-2023 14:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government publishes an official list of schools in England with crumbling concrete.
  
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• News story: List of education settings with confirmed RAAC published

  06-09-2023 14:27 via gov.uk
  
  As of today, fewer than 1% of all education settings have confirmed cases of RAAC.
  
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• Leicester school told by DfE to close building finds it has no Raac

  06-09-2023 14:03
  
  Willowbrook Mead primary will now shut for a day to move furniture back after scramble to create new spacesUK politics live – latest updatesA school that scrambled to set up temporary classrooms after the Department for Education (DfE) ordered closures because of Raac has received a government apology after it turned out it did not have the crumbly concrete after all.The government has published a list of 147 schools with Raac, nine fewer than it announced last Thursday, suggesting that la
  
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• What is Scotland's big childcare plan?

  06-09-2023 13:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What does Humza Yousaf's first programme for government tell us about his vision for Scotland?
  
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• A look inside a school with unsafe concrete

  06-09-2023 12:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scalby School in Scarborough has not reopened after the summer holidays due to the concrete crisis.
  
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• Students cut back on food as cost of living soars

  06-09-2023 12:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Some had to skip meals, take on debt or dip into savings last year as costs soared, research shows.
  
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• Building work was scrapped at 13 schools with RAAC

  06-09-2023 11:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  They were among those to lose out when the coalition government scrapped a Labour rebuilding scheme.
  
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• Guidance: Subcontracting post-16 education and training for the first time

  06-09-2023 11:00 via gov.uk
  
  How to seek written approval when subcontracting for the first time.
  
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• Guidance: Request approval to subcontract your whole 16 to 19 programme

  06-09-2023 11:00 via gov.uk
  
  Explains how lead providers of post-16 education and training should request approval to subcontract their whole 16 to 19 programme.
  
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• Guidance: Request approval to subcontract 16 to 19 distance learning

  06-09-2023 11:00 via gov.uk
  
  How lead providers of post-16 education and training should request approval to subcontract 16 to 19 provision which involves distance learning.
  
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• Guidance: Request a subcontracting threshold exemption

  06-09-2023 11:00 via gov.uk
  
  Explains how lead providers of post-16 education and training should request approval to subcontract more than 25% of their provision.
  
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• Guidance: How to declare subcontracting for post-16 education and training

  06-09-2023 11:00 via gov.uk
  
  How lead providers can declare their subcontracting arrangements.
  
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• Guidance: Governance for subcontracting in post-16 education and training

  06-09-2023 11:00 via gov.uk
  
  The governance responsibilities for lead providers of Department for Education funded post-16 education and training who subcontract.
  
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• Driving: Learners travelling 400 miles to take test

  06-09-2023 07:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An instructor says he takes some students on an eight-hour trip to take their practical test.
  
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