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26 April 2026

Author: Sophie Scott

“Pupil mental health cannot be ignored”

News that pupil mental health is school leaders’ number one wellbeing-related concern is, unfortunately, not a surprise to me. Faced with daily concerns about the wellbeing of the children and young people they work with, headteachers, deputies, pastoral leads and all staff are asking themselves what can be done to address this issue, especially in […]

Coasting schools initiative has no coherence, union chief warns

The government’s coasting schools initiative has been labelled as a “massive distraction” from the real problems faced by the education system. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, today said the coasting schools agenda looks good politically but works bad educationally. The Government’s education and adoption bill, which is going through […]

Education select committee launches inquiry into regional schools commissioners

The new education select committee is to launch an inquiry into the role of regional schools commissioners (RSCs). Announced this afternoon, the committee, chaired by Neil Carmichael, wants written evidence about the role of the eight RSCs in the autumn, including about what impact they have had in their first year and whether there are […]

Ofsted issues strong rebuttal over claims it failed to spot Trojan Horse problems

Ofsted has “fiercely defended” its reputation today following claims by MPs that confidence in the education watchdog was undermined after its failure to spot problems in Birmingham’s Trojan Horse schools. A report released by the education select committee in March raised questions over the reliability and robustness of Ofsted’s judgements following the Trojan Horse scandal where […]

Pupils’ mental health top concern for school leaders, report finds

Pupils’ mental health is the most worrying issue for school leaders and should serve as a “wake-up call to society”. A report by school support company The Key suggests two thirds of headteachers and school leaders nationally are most worried about mental health, followed by domestic violence, with 58 per cent citing it as a […]

Formula-based high needs SEN funding would work better, says report

The Department for Education (DfE) should consider ditching historic spending levels in favour of a formula-based approach for allocating SEN high needs funding to local authorities, says new research. Local authorities (LAs) should also work with schools to agree a “core entitlement” that all schools in a local area should provide for pupils with SEN, according to the […]

Assessment without levels report delayed until September

The publication of findings from an independent commission set up to help teachers plan for life after levels has been delayed until September. The Government scrapped the national levels system in September last year, saying level assessments were “distracting” and had become an “over-generalised label”. But a consultation with teachers – after the decision had been made – revealed […]

Teaching school to lose status after Ofsted report places it in special measures

A teaching school is to lose its status after it was found to be inadequate by Ofsted inspectors. Cramlington Learning Village, an academy, was put into special measures by the inspectorate. It was previously outstanding. The secondary school, which caters for 2,000 pupils in Northumberland, became an academy in 2011. It has been a Teaching […]