The early years

‘Best start in life’ strategy: Primaries to get ‘intensive’ RISE reception support

New plan to boost school-readiness also includes more early years training for heads and reception teachers

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
Admissions

Enforcement ‘first’, legal threats and place ‘caps’: Councils reveal admission woes

Watchdog report shows widespread clashes between councils and academy trusts as Labour plans school admission reforms

Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson
School buildings

DfE officials ‘concerned’ over school building impact of Grenfell bans

Warning government action against firms could hit ‘every’ school project, amid ‘concerning’ DfE emails

Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson
News

Phillipson launches summer reading drive to boost school-readiness

Call for parents to read with their children more comes ahead of ‘best start in life’ strategy launch

Ruth Lucas
Ruth Lucas
Exams

Ofqual scrutinising Edexcel’s A-level maths replacement paper

Pupils complain that replacement paper missed swathes of content they had expected it to cover

Freddie Whittaker
Freddie Whittaker
News

Government inclusion panel extended until April

Government’s expert panel on SEND inclusion extended until April 2026

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Lydia Chantler-Hicks


Ofsted

Just 0.07% of schools now fail safeguarding 

Number failing to meet requirements has decreased markedly in recent years

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Curriculum review

‘It’s refreshing Labour isn’t thrusting random vision on sector’, says Francis

Curriculum review chair says government’s approach means her review won’t ‘tip the sector over’

Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson
Recruitment and retention

The shapeshifting 6,500 teachers pledge 

Education secretary confirms promised teachers won’t all be new, and target omits key subjects aim

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Alternative provision

‘Illegal school’ fear over unregistered alternative provision

Children’s commissioner calls for wide-ranging reforms to a system she says is ‘failing children who often need the greatest…

Ruth Lucas
Ruth Lucas
News

A year of Labour: how are their manifesto promises progressing?

As part of our series on Labour’s first year in government, we looked at the 30 manifesto pledges to…

John Dickens
John Dickens
News

Ofqual considering ‘action’ amid AI coursework concerns

Exams regulator also has a crack team examining the ‘risks and benefits’ of artificial intelligence

Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson