Category Archives: Primary schools

Thousands of pupils may have to start term online as over 100 schools affected by crumble-risk concrete

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DfE guidance sent days before start of term means students and teachers at dozens of schools in England will need to be moved off site

Thousands of pupils in England may have to begin the autumn term taking lessons remotely after the government ordered more than 100 schools to immediately shut buildings made with aerated concrete until safety work is undertaken.

The guidance from the Department for Education was sent to 156 schools and colleges just days before the start of the new school year.

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‘Twinverclyde’: 17 sets of twins to start school in one Scottish authority

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Inverclyde welcomes second largest number of twins on record to start primary education

Seventeen sets of twins will start primary school in one Scottish local authority next week, the second largest number on record.

Schools in Inverclyde will welcome the twins for the first time on Friday 18 August, in an area that has colloquially become known as “Twinverclyde”.

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New Ofsted report upgrades headteacher Ruth Perry’s school to ‘good’

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Perry took her own life in March after Caversham primary school was downgraded from outstanding to inadequate

Ofsted has replaced its “inadequate” rating that may have contributed to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry after a new inspection praised staff for addressing previous weaknesses at the school in Reading.

Perry died this year after an Ofsted inspection downgraded Caversham primary school in Berkshire from outstanding to inadequate, with Perry’s family saying the grading was a factor in her taking her own life.

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Keir Starmer refuses to commit to free school meals pledge

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Labour leader says ‘money is a big factor’ as he also declines to promise 6.5% pay rise for teachers

Keir Starmer has refused to commit to supporting free school meals for all primary school children, as he stuck to a tough fiscal position despite pressure from inside and outside of his party.

The Labour leader also declined to commit to a 6.5% pay rise for teachers as he urged the government to resolve the dispute at the centre of strike action.

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Ministers accused of neglecting ‘tidal wave’ of child mental ill health in England

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Exclusive: Research reveals only a quarter of primaries will have vital school-based support by end of 2024

Ministers have been accused of failing to grasp the “tidal wave” of mental ill health blighting children’s lives, after research found that only a quarter of English primaries will be able to offer vital school-based support by the end of next year.

With almost one in five pupils aged seven to 16 now thought to have a mental health disorder, specialist support teams were set up to work with children in schools, addressing early symptoms and reducing pressure on overstretched NHS services.

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‘Much easier to say no’: Irish town unites in smartphone ban for young children

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Parents and schools across Greystones adopt voluntary ‘no-smartphone code’ in bid to curb peer pressure

On the principle of strength in numbers, parents in the Irish town of Greystones have banded together to collectively tell their children they cannot have a smartphone until secondary school.

Parents’ associations across the district’s eight primary schools have adopted a no-smartphone code to present a united front against children’s lobbying.

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Don’t talk to pupils about misogynist Andrew Tate, government urges teachers in England

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Advice comes despite charity’s warning that social media figure is fuelling shocking growth of misogyny in schools

Teachers are being advised by the government not to discuss social media influencer Andrew Tate, the “king of toxic masculinity”, with pupils – despite schools reporting a rising tide of misogyny and sexual harassment from boys as young as nine.

One small charity, Diversify, based in Rotherham, which runs school workshops about inclusion, receives about 25 calls a week from primary and secondary schools across England who want help dealing with sexual harassment and “shocking misogynistic incidents”. Many cite the influence of Tate, who is under house arrest in Romania for suspected human trafficking and organised crime. Tate’s TikTok videos tell boys that a woman belongs to her boyfriend; girls who don’t stay at home are “hoes”; and rape victims must “bear responsibility” for their attacks.

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Children read almost 25% more books last year, UK and Ireland study finds

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What Kids Are Reading report found communities on sites such as TikTok helped stimulate interest in reading

The number of books read by children increased by almost a quarter last year, according to a report, as BookTok and other social media trends stimulated interest in reading for young people.

The 2023 What Kids Are Reading report, which surveyed children in the UK and Ireland, found that pupils read 27,265,657 books in the 2021-2022 academic year, 24% more than the 2020-2021 academic year.

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Headteacher killed herself after news of low Ofsted rating, family says

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Ruth Perry was told that Caversham primary school in Reading would be downgraded to inadequate

A headteacher killed herself after she was told her school would be given the lowest possible Ofsted rating, her family has said.

Ruth Perry, who had worked at Caversham primary school in Reading for 13 years, took her own life in January after she was informed the school was being downgraded from outstanding to inadequate.

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Tens of thousands of teachers prepare to strike in England and Wales

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Teachers in north of England to strike on Tuesday followed by members in other regions over course of three days

Tens of thousands of teachers will strike this week resulting in the closure of some schools as members of the National Education Union (NEU) take part in three days of industrial action.

With little sign of a solution to the dispute on the horizon, teachers in the north of England will strike on Tuesday, followed by members in the Midlands and eastern regions on Wednesday.

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Good early years teaching may boost earnings of children in England – study

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Study reports one in 40 primary schools in England produce entire classes likely to earn more than their peers

Never mind getting a place at Oxbridge – a child’s future earnings can be significantly improved by the quality of their teachers at the age of four, according to new research.

The researchers used Department for Education (DfE) databases to connect adults’ earnings to the reception classes attended. The results highlight the outsized influence of early years’ education, finding that one in 40 primary schools in England produce entire classes likely to gain more money than their peers.

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Jamie Oliver calls for expansion of free school meals in England

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Tory ex-chancellor George Osborne also suggests free meals for ‘larger group of the population is the right way forward’

Jamie Oliver has renewed pressure on the government to expand free school meals, with George Osborne suggesting widening the programme could be the right way forward and Tony Blair saying the money could be found if politicians wanted to do it.

The television chef highlighted the issue as he was guest-editing BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday as part of his long-term campaign on free school meals.

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Parents in Wales lose legal fight against ‘woke’ sex eduation in primary schools

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Judge at Cardiff hearing rejects families’ complaint, saying relationships curriculum does not advocate any one gender identity

A group of parents has lost a legal challenge against the teaching of children about gender identity and sex in primary schools across Wales.

Campaigners launched a judicial review in the high court against the Welsh government’s new relationships and sexuality education (RSE) curriculum, which they depicted as “dangerous” and “woke”.

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Thousands of English schools in grip of funding crisis plan redundancies

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‘Unprecedented’ deficits will force heads to make ‘catastrophic’ cuts and reduce support for vulnerable pupils, NAHT warns

Thousands of schools in England are drawing up plans to make staff redundant in the face of a crippling funding crisis, and in many cases will also have to cut mental health support and Covid catch-up tuition, according to findings from one of the largest surveys of school leaders in recent times.

Two-thirds (66%) of the 11,000 school leaders who took part in the poll by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said they will have to make teaching assistants redundant or reduce their hours, while half (50%) are looking at cutting the number of teachers or teaching hours as they grapple with rising costs.

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Zayn Malik urges Rishi Sunak to give free school meals to all children in poverty

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Bradford-born singer who relied on free school lunches urges PM to extend provision to all families on universal credit

Zayn Malik has called on Rishi Sunak to “give all children living in poverty” free school meals during the cost of living crisis.

The former One Direction singer, 29, who relied on free school lunches as a child growing up in Bradford, recently became an ambassador for the Food Foundation and is backing its Feed the Future campaign.

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Teaching assistants quitting schools for supermarkets because of ‘joke’ wages

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Headteachers fear impact on children of unfilled vacancies as support staff say rising bills force them to leave jobs in education

Headteachers across the country say they cannot fill vital teaching assistant vacancies and that support staff are taking second jobs in supermarkets to survive because their wages are “just a joke”.

Schools are reporting that increasing numbers of teaching assistants are leaving because they will not be able to pay for high energy bills and afford food this winter. And with job ads often attracting no applications at all, heads fear they will be impossible to replace. They warn this will have a serious impact on children in the classroom, especially those with special educational needs, and will make it increasingly hard for teachers to focus on teaching.

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Schools urge parents to help plug funding gaps as costs soar

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Some parent bodies helping with core costs, raising fears of growing gap between rich and poor areas

Days into the new academic year, headteachers have raised the alarm about a looming funding crisis in schools, with some parents urged to make donations and parent-teacher associations on standby to plug funding gaps for classroom essentials.

As energy bills and wage costs rise, school leaders say money from PTA fundraising efforts will be needed to cover core costs rather than “nice to have” extras. In affluent areas where PTAs are able to raise huge sums, it could even be used to save jobs and help pay bills.

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Pupil numbers in England set to shrink by almost 1 million in 10 years

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Government forecast anticipates 12% decline, mainly due to fewer births, with surplus school places in years ahead

England’s school population is set to shrink by almost a million children over the next 10 years, according to the government’s latest data, raising the prospect of surplus places and school closures in some areas of the country in the years ahead.

Department for Education figures reveal that predicted pupil numbers, already in marked decline according to earlier modelling, have had to be revised down further in line with projections of fewer births than expected.

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Ban permanent exclusions from English primaries, says ex-children’s tsar

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Anne Longfield says ‘exclusions culture’ rewards removal of some vulnerable children from school roll

Primary schools should no longer permanently exclude pupils, and measures of wellbeing should be included alongside exam results in school league tables, according to a report by the former children’s commissioner for England.

The Commission on Young Lives, headed by Anne Longfield, argues that exclusions can be highly damaging to those affected, putting young people at risk of exploitation, serious violence and criminal activity.

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Scientists call for immediate rollout of Covid jab for UK primary school children

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Call comes as data shows 2- to 11-year-olds currently have the highest rate of infection

Scientists are calling for the immediate rollout of Covid vaccines to primary-aged children, as new data suggests that even a single dose of the Pfizer jab helps to prevent older children against infection, and shortens the duration and severity of symptoms if they do get infected.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, 2- to 11-year-olds have the highest rate of infections of any UK age group, with 4.2% testing positive during the week ending 5 March. Secondary-aged children (up to Year 11) have the lowest rate of infections, with 2.4% testing positive.

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