Category Archives: Education

Ministers urged to add audiobooks to England’s new schools curriculum

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Charity calls for move after poll finds ‘crisis’ levels of reading for pleasure and rise in 8- to 18-year-olds enjoying audio

The government has been urged to include audiobooks in the new schools curriculum in England, after research showed fewer children were reading books for pleasure and more were listening to them instead.

A poll by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) found that children’s enjoyment of listening to audio and podcasts had risen compared with the previous year, overtaking their enjoyment of reading for the first time since the charity began asking about audio in 2020.

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Forensic science centre that inspired BBC show Traces at risk of closure

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All 24 jobs at Dundee University’s Leverhulme research centre could be axed because of £30m budget deficit

Dundee University’s world-leading forensic science research centre, which inspired the hit BBC drama Traces, is under threat of closure as the institution attempts to plug a £30m budget deficit.

It is feared all 24 jobs will be axed at the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, the largest interdisciplinary team in the UK dedicated to improving the science used to investigate crimes and prosecute those responsible.

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Trump administration gives schools deadline to cut DEI or lose federal funds

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Education department gives ultimatum to stop using ‘racial preferences’ as factors in admissions or risk losing money

The Trump administration is giving the US’s schools and universities two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money, raising the stakes in the president’s fight against “wokeness”.

In a memo on Friday, the education department gave an ultimatum to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other areas. Schools are being given 14 days to end any practice that treats students or workers differently because of their race.

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‘Public policy failure’: number of public school students in Australia falls to record low – again

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Only states where enrolments to government schools grew in 2024 were Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia – all by less than 2%

The proportion of students enrolled in public schools has fallen to another record low, new data shows, placing Australia at risk of a “full blown flight” from the sector.

Of the 45,008 students who enrolled at schools in 2024, only 5,419 went to government schools while 39,589 went to the private sector.

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Parents working from home is affecting school attendance, says Ofsted chief

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Martyn Oliver says less office-going since pandemic has led to a shift in attitudes among pupils in England

School attendance rates are being affected by parents working from home after the pandemic, the head of Ofsted has said.

The chief inspector of the schools watchdog in England, Martyn Oliver, told the Sunday Times that the widespread change in working habits after the pandemic had led to a shift in attitudes among pupils.

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Fall in overseas students fuels threat to English universities despite rise in fees

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Higher tuition costs have already been ‘wiped out’ by government tax hikes, critics claim

A fall in international students applying for visas risks prolonging the existential threat facing some of England’s universities, sources in higher education say, amid warnings that an increase in tuition fees has already been “wiped out” by the government’s tax rises.

Despite the decision by ministers to increase fees for UK students this year to £9,535 – the first rise in eight years – figures across the universities sector said the financial situation remained dire, with further course closures and redundancies being widely considered.

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Sacking of Christian school worker over posts about LGBTQ+ lessons unlawful, court rules

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Kristie Higgs was dismissed after sharing posts on plans to teach equalities programme at her son’s C of E school

A Christian school worker who was sacked after she shared Facebook posts raising concerns about lessons in LGBTQ+ relationships for primary schoolchildren has won her battle in the court of appeal.

Kristie Higgs was dismissed from her role as a pastoral administrator and work experience manager at Farmor’s, a secondary school in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019 after an anonymous complaint from a parent at the school.

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Texas may allow families to pay for private schools with public funds

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School voucher bill likely to benefit wealthier families, allowing $10,000 of taxpayer dollars per student per year

Donald Trump’s executive order on school choice last month may soon be wholly embraced by the state of Texas.

Earlier this month, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, announced school choice as an emergency item during his State of the State address, and just last week, the Texas senate easily passed a school voucher bill (known as senate bill 2 or SB2), which House Republicans expect to pass imminently.

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Cambridge risks losing ‘unbelievable talent’ amid PhD funding cut

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Warning by vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice comes as ‘Silicon Valley’ planned between Oxford and Cambridge

The University of Cambridge risks “losing unbelievable talent” owing to a drop-off in funding for PhDs, the vice-chancellor has cautioned.

Prof Deborah Prentice, who took over as vice-chancellor in 2023, described PhD students as “the lifeblood” of the university’s research and innovation work, and expressed concern that funding from research councils had “dropped off significantly”.

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Ofsted’s new school report card worse than old system, say headteachers

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Unions as well as school leaders say proposed changes to replace four-grade approach in England are ‘demoralising’

Moves to overhaul the way schools are inspected in England have been criticised by headteachers and teaching unions as “demoralising” and worse than the system they are aiming to replace.

The changes by the Ofsted schools inspectorate would replace single judgments such as “outstanding” with a new report card for parents. They will be unveiled by Ofsted’s chief inspector, Martyn Oliver, on Monday alongside the launch of a public consultation.

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Ofsted overhaul for English schools to be put out for public consultation

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Five-step rating from ‘exemplary’ to ‘causing concern’ set to replace single-word judgments

Schools in England are likely to be judged on a new five-step scale, under proposals by the Ofsted inspectorate to be put out for public consultation as soon as next week.

The consultation is the culmination of plans by the government to overhaul the way schools are rated, with Labour having pledged to scrap inspection reports using single headline grades such as “outstanding” or “inadequate” after a coroner’s report said an Ofsted inspection had contributed to the death of Ruth Perry, a headteacher, in 2023.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Oklahoma schools plan to require proof of students’ immigration status

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Proposal from state board of education condemned by teachers and rights groups, as parents and students protest

Parents enrolling children in Oklahoma public schools will be required to provide proof of their child’s US citizenship or legal immigration status under a proposed rule approved Tuesday by the state board of education.

The board voted unanimously to approve the rule aimed at helping Donald Trump’s immigration policies. It still needs to be approved by the legislature and the governor.

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Cardiff University to cut 400 staff and drop subjects including nursing and music

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Union describe reductions as ‘cruel’ as university says it will run out of money without changes

Cardiff University has announced plans to shed 400 academic staff – almost 10% of its total – and cut subjects including nursing, music and modern languages, saying it will run out of money in four years if no changes are made.

Academics, union representatives and students expressed shock and dismay at the scale of the cuts, which were announced at staff meetings at the Russell Group university on Tuesday.

A reduction of academic headcount by about 400 full-time equivalent (7% of total workforce), using compulsory redundancy only if absolutely necessary. ​

Ceasing subjects and programmes in ancient history, modern languages and translation, music, nursing, and religion and theology.

Increasing student-to-staff ratios across the university.

Bringing “complementary” disciplines together through school mergers. For example, the creation of the school of natural sciences (merging chemistry, Earth sciences and physics) and school of global humanities (merging English, communication and philosophy, Welsh, and remaining elements of history, archaeology and religion and modern languages).

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Keir Starmer did not discuss threat of US tariffs on UK imports in first call with Donald Trump, No 10 says – UK politics live

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Downing Street says PM’s call with Trump was ‘warm’ and did not include tariffs, Greenland, defence-spending or Ukraine

The hearing has stopped for a short break. Heather Hallett, the chair, tells Badenoch that her evidence will be finished by lunchtime.

Keith is now asking Badenoch about the fourth report produced by the Race Disparity Unit. It was produced in December 2021.

Relevant health departments and agencies should review and action existing requests for health data, and undertake an independent strategic review of the dissemination of healthcare data and the publication of statistics and analysis.​​

Government is not necessarily great at delivering these systems. They tend to be big boondoggles for the private sector, but there are private sector companies that can deliver this. There need to be caveats around that.

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Third of young adults in UK ‘unable to name Auschwitz or any Nazi death camps’

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Lack of knowledge about Holocaust identified as well as level of denial and disinformation seen on social media

A third of young adults in the UK are unable to name Auschwitz or any of the other concentration camps and ghettoes where the crimes of the Holocaust were committed, according to a study.

Other growing gaps in knowledge – especially among those aged 18-29 – were also identified, as part of a major international survey in countries including the US and UK.

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Launch natural history GCSE in England now, campaigners urge Labour

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Environmentalists say new course could be delayed until 2030 because it is viewed as Conservative party initiative

Leading environmentalists have called on the government to introduce a natural history GCSE immediately, amid fears it could be postponed until 2030.

The previous Conservative administration had supported creating the GCSE, which would teach pupils how to observe, identify and classify plants and animals.

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Scientists of potato blight pathogen?

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Researchers say study may help global efforts in controlling disease that still destroys crops today

It was a disaster that killed about 1 million people, devastating 19th century Ireland, but while the potato disease linked to the Irish famine is well known, a battle has raged over where it originated.

Scientists have long been divided over whether the fungus-like pathogen Phtytophthora infestans cropped up in the Andes or originated in Mexico.

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Unpaid internships ‘locking out’ young working-class people from careers

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UK charity calls for positions of four weeks or longer to be banned to help close social mobility gap

Young people from working-class or disadvantaged backgrounds are being “locked out” of careers by unpaid or low-paid internships that benefit middle-class graduates, according to a social mobility charity.

Research by the Sutton Trust found that middle-class graduates made more use of internships as stepping stones into sectors such as finance or IT, even in cases where the internships paid nothing or below the minimum wage as required by legislation.

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West Midlands teacher was ‘forced into hiding’ after doctored video alleged she made racist slur

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Cheryl Bennett has been paid substantial damages after fake clip taken when she was canvassing for Labour was viewed millions of times

A teacher subjected to a torrent of abuse after doctored footage falsely alleged she used a racist slur while canvassing for the Labour party has said she was forced into hiding and feared it would ruin her career.

Cheryl Bennett, a PE teacher from Wednesbury in the West Midlands, was helping her colleague, Qasim Mughal, hand out Labour leaflets during the local elections in May last year when she was recorded on a household security camera.

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Plans for Bible reading and Latin in Italian schools criticised as ‘retrograde’

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Education minister reveals revamp of national curriculum guidelines and says children must ‘learn to write better’

Bible reading, Latin and learning poetry by heart could return to Italian primary and middle schools as part of a revamp of national curriculum guidelines criticised as “retrograde” and “nostalgic”.

The education minister, Giuseppe Valditara, unveiled the guidelines, which predominantly affect children aged three to 14 and are expected to take effect from the 2026/2027 school year, in an interview with the rightwing newspaper, Il Giornale, saying that children must discover “a taste for reading” and “learn to write better”.

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