Category Archives: Schools

Sad faces all round as Bolivia’s clowns protest over decree threatening their livelihoods

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Clowns in Bolivia are upset by mandate that stops schools hosting events from which they earn a living

Dozens of clowns have marched through the streets of Bolivia’s capital to protest against a government decree that limits extracurricular activities in schools, threatening their livelihoods.

Wearing full face paint and their signature red noses, the clowns gathered on Monday in front of the ministry of education in La Paz to oppose a decree published in February. The new mandate says schools must comply with 200 days of lessons each year – in effect banning them from hosting the special events where the entertainers are frequently employed.

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Zack Polanski tells NEU teachers’ union that Greens would abolish ‘toxic’ Ofsted – UK politics live

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The Green party leader said Ofsted is a ‘failed institution’ and that teaching should move ‘toward a genuinely collaborative model’

Starmer complained about other parties whipping up division, and he specifically criticised Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, for “complaining about Muslims praying in public”.

Labour, by contrast, values bringing people together, he said.

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Schools in England must be compelled to offer pupils healthy food, not junk

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School dinners have suffered at the hands of politics and economics for almost 50 years

Almost a generation has passed since Jamie Oliver’s four-part Channel 4 documentary series Jamie’s School Dinners exposed the unhealthy reality of the food served to pupils at lunchtime, including – notoriously – fat-heavy, meat-light Turkey Twizzlers. It proved a shaming and effective intervention. His ensuing Feed Me Better campaign led the then prime minister, Tony Blair, to pledge to make school lunches more nutritious and hand schools more money to do that, given the average lunch at that time cost just 45p to make.

Problem solved? Unfortunately not.

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Teachers in Victoria strike for first time in 13 years, with classes cancelled at about 500 public schools

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Australian Education Union members to rally outside state parliament in dispute over pay and conditions

Classes have been halted across Victoria as thousands of striking public school teachers, principals and education support staff prepare to descend on state parliament for a rally over pay and conditions.

According to the Australian Education Union’s Victorian president, Justin Mullaly, up to 500 schools would either be closed or “significantly affected” as a result of the first strike in the state’s public school system in more than 13 years.

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US supreme court blocks California privacy protections for trans students

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State laws had limited sharing of information with parents about gender identity of trans students in public schools

The US supreme court has decided to block a series of California laws that can limit the sharing of information with parents about the gender identity of transgender students in public ​schools. This ruling marks a victory for parents who challenged these protections on religious and due process grounds.

The emergency request was granted on Monday and the decision was made along party lines, with the three liberal justices dissenting.

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TikTok and Snapchat posts urge London pupils to join ‘school wars’ fights

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Met urges pupils not to get involved and asks platforms to ban accounts promoting ‘fights’ with images of weapons

Pupils aged 11 to 16 are being encouraged to join in school fights in posts circulating on TikTok and Snapchat, prompting police to urge children not to get involved.

The Metropolitan police have asked social media platforms to ban accounts promoting “school wars”, while headteachers have warned parents about the posts.

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Phillipson says Send reforms needed ‘even if money were no object’ because current outcomes ‘not good enough’– UK politics live

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Education secretary says education, health and care plans (EHCPs) shouldn’t be the ‘only way’ for children to get help

Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been speaking about the Send reforms at an event in Peterborough.

This is what she said about the need for inclusion.

Inclusion is a choice. It is an educational choice, and it is also a political choice because we could duck this challenge, ignore the injustice of a postcode lottery in life chances putting off fixing the Send system yet again.

The system works well for some at least.

We welcome the scale of vision contained in the white paper which has the potential to create an education system that fully values children and young people with additional needs and their families.

We also welcome the commitment to retain statutory education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for children and young people whose needs cannot be met through this new model. We know that many parents will welcome the legal requirement for schools to create individual support plans (ISPs) for all children with Send.

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Amid Trump crackdown on Chinese students, one US university appears to block them altogether

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Purdue says no ban on Chinese students exists, but reportedly rescinded dozens of offers after warnings from legislators

Several universities have scrapped partnerships with Chinese institutions in recent months as a direct result of pressure from US legislators. But no university appears to have gone as far as Purdue University in Indiana.

Students and faculty at the public university say that an unofficial policy is in effect to automatically reject students from China and a number of other countries altogether.

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Northwestern University agrees to pay US government $75m to restore research funding

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Agreement will also end series of investigations of university over school’s alleged failure to fight antisemitism

Northwestern University has agreed to pay $75m to the US government in a deal with the Trump administration to end a series of investigations and restore hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding.

Donald Trump’s administration had cut off $790m in grants in a standoff that contributed to university layoffs and the resignation in September of Northwestern’s president, Michael Schill. The administration argued the school had not done enough to fight antisemitism.

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All schools in England with removal grants to be Raac-free by 2029, says Phillipson

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Education secretary promises ‘clear timelines’ are in place to permanently remove crumbling concrete

All schools in England that received grant funding to pay for the removal of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) should be free of it by the end of this parliament, the education secretary has pledged.

Setting out a new timeline for dealing with the crumbling concrete crisis in schools, Bridget Phillipson said: “We inherited a crumbling education estate, but I won’t let that be our legacy.

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Democratic senators call on education department to stop ICE raids by schools

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Cory Booker, Ed Markey and others urge Linda McMahon to step in amid violent crackdowns near Chicago schools

A group of Democratic senators have demanded that the Department of Education to stop immigration enforcement activities from taking place close to schools, following several violent crackdowns near school grounds in Chicago.

Although the raids are conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the senators are making an appeal directly to the education secretary, Linda McMahon.

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Pupils fear AI is eroding their ability to study, research finds

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One in four students say AI ‘makes it too easy’ for them to find answers

Pupils fear that using artificial intelligence is eroding their ability to study, with many complaining it makes schoolwork “too easy” and others saying it limits their creativity and stops them learning new skills, according to new research.

The report on the use of AI in UK schools, commissioned by Oxford University Press (OUP), found that just 2% of students aged between 13 and 18 said they did not use AI for their schoolwork, while 80% said they regularly used it.

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Covid school closures in UK damaged ‘very fabric of childhood’

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Inquiry hears of children exposed to pornography and suffering ‘grievous’ harm without protection of schools

The Covid pandemic disrupted the “very fabric of childhood”, the UK inquiry has heard, on the first day of a four-week session devoted to its impact on children and young people.

Clair Dobbin KC, counsel to the inquiry, said in her opening submission on Monday that some of the evidence drawn from the 18,000 stories and 400 targeted interviews would be “hard to listen to”.

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Scottish government says schools must have separate toilets for boys and girls

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Schools encouraged to also offer gender-neutral facilities for trans pupils or access to disabled and staff toilets

Schools must provide separate toilets and changing rooms for boys and girls to be used on the basis of a pupil’s biological sex, the Scottish government has said in updated guidance.

Transgender pupils can no longer use “the facilities they feel most comfortable with”, as was previously the case, but schools were encouraged to offer gender-neutral facilities or access to disabled and staff toilets for the relatively small number of children affected.

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Rachel Reeves pledges a library in every primary school in England

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Exclusive: Chancellor also set to unveil plans to get young people back into work in party conference speech

Rachel Reeves will deliver a library in every primary school in England as part of Labour’s plans to give all children the best start in life regardless of their background.

The scheme, which will create libraries in the 1,700 primaries currently without them, will be funded from £132.5m of dormant assets that will be unlocked to give young people access to cultural opportunities.

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White low-income pupils ‘report lowest enthusiasm for school’ in England

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Boys and girls in demographic start secondary school with weakest levels of engagement, research finds

White pupils from low-income families in England start secondary school with far lower levels of enthusiasm or effort than other ethnic groups, according to new research that may partly explain differences in academic results and behaviour.

Both girls and boys from lower-income white families reported weak levels of engagement from year 7 onwards. Girls were less likely to enjoy being at school while the boys made less effort with their school work.

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Low birthrates in England could lead to ‘closure of 800 primary schools by 2029’

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Primary pupil numbers could fall by 4% over next five years leading to reduction of 162,000 pupils, study finds

Declining numbers of children across England could lead to the equivalent of 800 primary schools falling empty or being closed by the end of the decade, according to research by a thinktank.

The national decline in pupils at state primary schools is mainly driven by low birthrates but is magnified in London by increasing numbers of people moving out of the capital or leaving the state system to move abroad or send their children to private schools, according to the Education Policy Institute.

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Majority of girls and young women in UK alter behaviour to feel safe, study finds

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Girlguiding survey reveals rising fears of harassment, with many avoiding public transport or changing what they wear

Two-thirds of girls and young women have changed their everyday behaviour to try to stay safe, with 31% avoiding taking public transport alone, according to a survey by the Girlguiding charity.

The research found that 56% of girls and young women in the UK aged between 11 and 21 said they feel unsafe travelling by themselves, up from 45% in 2022, while almost one-third said they avoided public transport altogether.

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Third of UK parents have sought special needs assessment for their child, survey finds

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Parentkind charity also says 33% of parents of children with special educational needs reported financial strain

One in three parents have sought a special needs assessment for their child, according to a survey that reveals a surge in demand for special needs support in schools across the UK.

The figures were released amid mounting apprehension in England over national plans to reform special needs provision amid rising costs and a severe shortage of dedicated special school places.

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Sweden to implement nationwide mobile phone ban in schools

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From autumn 2026 all schools and after-school clubs must collect and hold students’ phones until the end of the day

Sweden is to implement a nationwide mobile phone ban in all schools in an attempt to improve security and study conditions for students.

From the next school year, starting in autumn 2026, it will be compulsory for all schools and after-school clubs to collect students’ phones and hold them until the end of the day.

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