Education News

New Ofsted reporting regime comes into force. School Report Cards are introduced. The Government stated, in September 2024, that these “will provide parents with a full and comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing and ensure that inspections are more effective in driving improvement. Recent data shows that reports cards are supported by 77% of parents.”

Primary school national offer day.

Secondary school offer day.

Primary school application deadline.

Government introduces the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The aim is to protect children at risk of abuse and stopping vulnerable children falling through the cracks.  The Bill will introduce new registers to identify children who are not in school. With better knowledge of where children are, councils can more easily deliver the support that’s needed and ensure a high quality education is being provided. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “In recent years, too many children have been failed by their last line of defence: the state. This Bill will be a seminal moment for child protection. No more words, no more lessons learnt. This government will put children first at every turn. That means a child-centred government, with better protections for young people and real join up between children’s social care, schools and local services. Alongside further measures to drive high and rising standards in our schools, this Bill will deliver on this government’s Plan for Change, so that all children, whatever their circumstances, can achieve and thrive.”

BBC reports, “A leading school academy trust is facing allegations of presiding over a “toxic culture” toward its pupils. More than 150 current and former pupils, parents, former teachers and professionals have shared their experiences of the Mossbourne Federation schools in Hackney, east London. The allegations, which span two decades, include claims of racism and that teachers would routinely scream at pupils for minor infractions, with “public humiliation” being commonplace.”

Ofsted Annual Report 2023/24. Of the many issues covered, attendance by pupils is identified as a cause for concern. “The absence rate has risen since the pandemic. The overall rate has hovered around 7% for the last couple of years; before COVID, it was consistently lower than 5%. What is particularly alarming is the increase in the number of children who are severely and persistently absent. The rate of persistently absent pupils (those who are missing more than 10% of their sessions) was over 19% in autumn and spring 2023/24, compared with 11% in 2018/19. The latest Department for Education (DfE) figures showed that around 158,000 children missed at least half their classes in the autumn and spring terms of the last academic year, classing them as severely absent. The situation is even more acute for the most disadvantaged children. Based on recent figures, more than four in 10 children in need are persistently absent, as are around a third of children who receive free school meals.”

“The government has announced £740m of funding to increase the number of places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in mainstream schools in England.”

Anti Bullying Week. “From playgrounds to parliament, our homes to our phones, this Anti-Bullying Week let’s ‘Choose Respect’ and bring an end to bullying which negatively impacts millions of young lives.”

Government announces increase in university tuition fees from September 2025, from £9,250 to £9,535.

Secondary school application deadline.

Rachel Reeves first Government Budget. The Govt say, “Funding for schools will rise by £2.3billion next year. £1billion of that funding is for high needs, recognising the immense need in the sector. The government is continuing to develop plans to transform England’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system and improve outcomes for young people. This remaining increase to the schools budget will continue to fully fund this summer’s 5.5% pay award for teachers, and help cover pay awards in 2025-26. Despite the investment, there will still be difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector – including in schools. We will support schools to use their money more efficiently wherever possible.”

National Audit Office publish report, “Support for children and young people with special educational needs”. The report includes the conclusion, “ The government has not yet identified a solution to manage local authority deficits arising from SEN costs, and ongoing savings programmes are not designed to address these challenges.  Given that the current system costs over £10 billion a year, and that demand for SEN provision is forecast to continue increasing, the government needs to think urgently about how its current investment can be better spent, including through more inclusive education, identifying and addressing needs earlier, and developing a whole-system approach to help achieve its objectives.”

Dyslexia Awareness week (7 October – 13 October 2024)

NHS announce, “Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in residential special schools and colleges across England are to be offered free NHS eyesight, hearing and dental checks. Autistic children and young people and those with a learning disability are often more likely to experience eyesight, hearing and dental problems than their peers and may also find it much harder to tell people if they are having any problems, or whether it is getting worse or causing them pain. The NHS sensory checks have been piloted in schools during 2022 and 2023, and will now be offered to all special residential schools and colleges across England from next year – reaching around 18,000 children and young people. The new checks will help ensure issues are identified promptly, and that children and young people can get the right care and follow-up support as quickly as possible.”

BBC reports, “There are fewer pupils starting secondary private school this year, according to the body that represents most independent schools in the UK. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) says some members reported a 4.6% fall in Year 7 pupils in September, in figures seen exclusively by BBC News. Experts say the declining birth rate and cost of living could be having an impact – but the ISC attributes the drop to parents deciding against sending their children to private school, after plans to charge value added tax (VAT) from January were announced.”

Secretary of State for Education announces students should continue to have access to formulae and equation sheets in GCSE examinations in mathematics, physics and combined science, in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

Report from the Children’s Commissioner reveals that hundreds of children with special educational needs are missing from education in England. “More than 11,500 children in England went missing from education over the course of one year – despite having previously attended. New analysis found these children went missing between spring 2022 and spring 2023 – and many have particular vulnerabilities that makes tracing them even more urgent. It provides, for the first time, a clearer picture of who these children are, their backgrounds and their circumstances. Compared to their peers in state-funded education, the children whose last-known destination was missing education were 1.4 times as likely to have a special educational need (SEN), 1.5 times as likely to live in the most deprived neighbourhoods and 2.7 times as likely to have a social worker as a child in need. They were also more likely to be making the transition to secondary school from primary, aged 10 at the start of the school year.”

BBC reports that, “A new study says north-east England will continue to have the highest rate of children being excluded and suspended from schools in England. According to research by the thinktank IPPR and charity The Difference, Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Newcastle are among the worst places for children missing out on education. The reports also highlights a direct link between deprivation in the region and high suspension and exclusion figures.”

The Government announce that, “Single headline (Ofsted) grades for schools will be scrapped with immediate effect to boost school standards and increase transparency for parents…Reductive single headline grades fail to provide a fair and accurate assessment of overall school performance across a range of areas and are supported by a minority of parents and teachers. …For inspections this academic year, parents will see four grades across the existing sub-categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership & management.”