Education News
IBB Law’s specialist education team is dedicated to enabling children and young people achieve beyond their dreams. We only act for children, young people and their parents. We are focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for those at the heart of education.
We provide advice and support across the full range of education issues. We monitor decisions in the courts, new statutes, rules, regulations and guidance from Government. We also take note of reports from digital media. The monitoring and recording of developments in education are collated in this Education News page. Hyperlinks are included to identify the primary source to assist those looking for more information.
BBC report on findings in response to Freedom of Information requests sent to 152 local education authorities. The FOI asked about supporting children with education, health and care plans (EHCP). The findings suggest, at least 12 councils are completing EHCP assessments within the 20-week limit in fewer than 10% of cases; of those, 8 councils are issuing plans within the timeframe in fewer than 5% of cases; in Essex, 9 out of 1,360 cases were completed in time between April and December last year, giving the authority one of the lowest rates. Five years ago, 66% of plans were on time; in Portsmouth, out of 148 cases, only one was completed within the time limit – compared with five years ago when 95% of cases were on time.
Government publish statutory guidance on “Draft Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education”. This consultation states “Gender identity is a highly contested and complex subject….If asked about gender identity, schools should teach the facts about biological sex and not use any materials that present contested views as fact, including the view that gender is a spectrum.”
Year 6 pupils take their key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests (SATs) 13- 16 May 2024, inclusive.
BBC reports that Birmingham City Council have told parents of special educational needs and disabilities children, they will have to pay more for transport, to get their children to college and sixth form.
BBC report that Ofsted reported the service for children with special educational needs and disabilities has been “too poor for too long”. The BBC report states, “Ofsted found trust had broken down in the services run by Bury Council and NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board. “Widespread failings” such as poor communication, long waits for assessments, and lack of provision were identified in an inspection held in February.”
Prime Minister calls on university leaders to protect Jewish students. Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “Universities should be places of rigorous debate but also bastions of tolerance and respect for every member of their community. A vocal minority on our campuses are disrupting the lives and studies of their fellow students and, in some cases, propagating outright harassment and antisemitic abuse. That has to stop.” “The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) have criticised the “toxic environment” faced by Jewish students across the country. According to the Communities Security Trust, there was an increase of 203% in university-related antisemitic incidents between 2022 and 2023.”
The Government announced its intention to launch a consultation on lifting the 50% cap on faith school places alongside proposals opening special faith based academies. The “consultation will explore how to maximise the benefits that high quality academy trusts deliver, and in particular how to improve provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by opening special faith-based academies.”
BBC reports, “Staff were filmed hitting, kicking and leaving special school pupils in their own urine. Despite the school proving abuse in so-called “calming rooms”, some staff are still employed there and have not been barred from working with children. Whitefield School said it acted in pupils’ best interests and was not obliged to make barring referrals. The Children’s Commissioner for England says the BBC’s findings are “horrifying” and rules on seclusion should be tightened. “There is no place for any of that behaviour and it needs to stop,” Dame Rachel de Souza says.”
Ofsted Inspection Report of the Islamic Tarbiyyah Preparatory School, an independent Islamic faith school in Bradford, carried out between 19 – 21 September 2023. The school has been rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. The Ofsted Inspection report contained the following statements. “When speaking with inspectors, pupils explained that in Year 6, boys and girls do not have the same options available to them in school….For example, during extended periods of social time, older girls are unable to access the same games and play opportunities as boys….During these periods of time, female pupils help the female staff with the youngest pupils, while male pupils play sports….This does not support pupils’ understanding that aspirations and interests are not limited by gender… Girls say that they are treated differently from boys…Female pupils in Year 6 are unable to access the shared space with male pupils at lunchtime and during afternoon breaks…This prevents them accessing the same games as boys at lunchtimes and playtimes…Stereotypes linked to girls being emotionally weaker than boys are not challenged.”
The National Crime Agency (“NCA”) issued an alert to hundreds of thousands of education professionals following a considerable increase in global cases of financially motivated sexual extortion – a type of online blackmail widely known as ‘sextortion’. The NCA gave advice about spotting the signs of this type of abuse, supporting young people and encouraging them to seek help. It also includes guidance to be disseminated to parents and carers on how to talk to their child about sextortion, and how to support them if they become a victim – aiming to take away the stigma surrounding the topic and, in turn, power away from those who wish to harm them.
The Department for Education published non-statutory guidance on how education settings should prepare for and respond to terrorism and other major incidents. The guidance includes information on staff roles in protective security and preparedness, and embedding a security culture.
BBC reports that parents of pupils who were excluded from primary and secondary schools over behaviour, say the system has “failed” them. The group of Sunderland parents are calling on the government to improve resources for mainstream schools.
BBC reports that, MI5 has warned, foreign states are targeting British universities to undermine national security. Vice-chancellors from 24 leading universities were briefed on the threat by the security services and the government on Thursday. “Leaders from institutions including the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Imperial College London were told research in sensitive areas could be targeted by states intent on stealing intellectual property to enhance their own economic and military capabilities.”
Primary school offers, for places starting in September 2024, are made to parents on Tuesday 16 April 2024.
The proportion of primary school applicants who received an offer of their first preference school rose by 0.7 percentage points to 93.2%. This was based on a 2.3% drop in the number of applicants for a place at primary school, to around 555,600. Applications have been falling since 2020, although the reduction in on-time applications in 2021 may have been pandemic related. This is likely to be a result of the continued drop in births seen from 2016 onwards.
Dr Hilary Cass has submitted her final report and recommendations to NHS England in her role as Chair of the Independent Review of gender identity services for children and young people. Some of the key findings are:
- “There is no simple explanation for the increase in the numbers of predominantly young people and young adults who have a trans or gender diverse identity, but there is broad agreement that it is a result of a complex interplay between biological, psychological and social factors. This balance of factors will be different in each individual.
- There are conflicting views about the clinical approach, with expectations of care at times being far from usual clinical practice. This has made some clinicians fearful of working with gender-questioning young people, despite their presentation being similar to many children and young people presenting to other NHS services.
- While a considerable amount of research has been published in this field, systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.
- For most young people, a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress. For those young people for whom a medical pathway is clinically indicated, it is not enough to provide this without also addressing wider mental health and/or psychosocially challenging problems.”
The National Education Union says sexism is on the rise in schools because of harmful content on children’s phones. “The rise of sexist and violent ideas online is problematic and young people are very influenced by their peers and the content driven by algorithms. Greater regulation of tech companies and quicker action on removing harmful content is needed. Helping young people interrogate the motivation and appeal of online figures can help students to think critically about what they see and increase confidence in reporting harassment.”
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman determined West Northamptonshire Council failed to provide education for a child when she was unable to attend school. The local authority delayed issuing an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, by 27 weeks. The council was required to make payments to the child’s mother totalling £5,400 for not providing suitable education for around 15 months, and for distress and frustration. The Ombudsman also required the council to take action to prevent similar failings in future.
Robert Halfon resigned as Minister of State at the Department for Education
Consultation closes on Guidance for Schools and Colleges: Gender Questioning Children.
Secondary school offers, for places starting in September 2024, made to parents on 11 March 2024.
The proportion of secondary school applicants who received an offer of their first preference school increased by 0.3 percentage points to 82.9%, following a 0.7 percentage point decrease in 2023.There were nearly 610,000 secondary applications received (a 1.7% decrease on 2023, which was itself a 1.0% increase on 2022).