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2 May 2026

Author: Jess Staufenberg

First-choice primary school places increase in high-demand areas

Councils expecting the biggest rise in demand for primary school places have managed to offer more youngsters their first choice school. Around half a million youngsters are finding out today which primary school they will attend this September. Latest government figures forecast there will be an extra 293,178 primary places needed by 2020 – amounting to […]

More than 1,000 schools given a mental health ‘point of contact’

More than a thousand schools will be given a “point of contact” mental health expert in the face of rising anxiety and depression among pupils. An ongoing pilot linking experts in child and adolescent mental health services (CAHMS) to schools will now grow to five times it size since it was first announced in 2015. Up to […]

Jason Wing, executive principal, Neale-Wade academy

Jason Wing taught himself to become a national standard long-jumper when he was 12. He went on to represent Great Britain, become a professional rugby league player, and eventually make it as an Olympic bobsleigher before turning his full attention to teaching. Much like Eddie the Eagle, Wing has tested the limits of how far […]

Primary schools forced to re-advertise headteacher roles

Primary schools are struggling to fill headships and are readvertising top roles at more than double the rate of secondary schools. A quarter of primary schools (26 per cent) seeking a new head had to readvertise in the first three months of this year, compared with 10 per cent of secondary schools, according to figures […]

Over 40 schools allowed to stop daily Christian worship

More than 40 schools have sought exemptions in the past 18 months from the legal requirement to provide a daily act of Christian worship, with many choosing “non-faith” or “multi-faith” alternatives for the first time. A total of 46 schools since 2015 have asked to opt out from a daily act of worship that is […]

Film company targets ‘grammar teachers’ in recruitment video

Grammar school teachers are being singled out to feature in a “government-led” TV campaign, although the Department for Education (DfE) says it has not commissioned a production company. Just So Films has asked full-time teachers in secondary “state and grammar schools” to get in touch if they want to feature in a film that will […]

Long-awaited DfE board minutes ‘fail to set example’ on transparency

The Department for Education (DfE) has been accused of “failing to lead by example” on school transparency after publishing concise board meeting minutes up to two years late. Board meeting minutes stretching back to June 2015 have been published today after a two-year wait, with some updates amounting to no more than a 10 word […]

Jon Platt loses landmark term-time holiday legal challenge

A parent has lost a landmark case in the Supreme Court that he should be allowed to take his daughter on holiday during term-time, with parents now required to stick with a school’s own rules. The Supreme Court has upheld a council’s right to fine Jon Platt, a parent who took his daughter out of school to go […]