In the news: your weekly round-up

Top stories

Recruitment crisis worsens as England competes with other countries for skilled educators. The DfE is looking abroad to drive up recruitment numbers with relocation premiums and skilled-worker visas, while UK teachers are heading overseas for a better quality of life [Schools Week]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Recruiting a headteacher can feel like a daunting task. Read our top tips to make sure you attract the best candidates for your school.

Spotlight placed on average daily exclusion numbers in England thanks to crochet blanket initiative. Parents and carers worked on a blanket made from 2,999 pieces of fabric, highlighting the number of children who were excluded, on average, each school day in 2021/22 [BBC News]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Keep an eye on your school’s exclusion data, and understand how to identify and prevent ‘off-rolling’, to hold your senior leaders to account. 

Teachers receive “minimal” training on writing according to a new report by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). This is the case during initial training and continuing professional development (CPD), despite requests for more writing training across all Key Stages, particularly around handwriting, motor skills, vocabulary and spelling [Tes Magazine- registration required]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Understand what your role is when looking at pupils’ work on school visits, including why you might want to do this and what to look for.

This week's headlines

Schools Week

• SEND safety valve deals lead to legal challenges for councils
• Majority of students who dropped out of T-levels moved to courses set to be scrapped
• Proposed Ofsted report cards should be based on “a slim set of statutory standards”, according to ASCL
• Falling rolls crisis should be an opportunity to “transform our children’s education”, according to NAHT
• Ex-PM Gordon Brown suggests Labour will 'turn the tide' on child poverty
• GAG pooling row leads to trust staff striking
• Strikes, petitions and open letters targeted at lack of MAT get-out clause
• Emergency capital cash handouts hit £12m in last 12 months due to funding crisis

Tes Magazine – registration required

• Third of STEM teacher trainee applications rejected
• Social challenges resulting from the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis are too much for trust leaders, according to Confederation of School Trusts
• DfE's property company, LocatedED, helped to sell only 1 surplus school site in 5 years
• Budget pressures expected to result in teaching assistant cuts in half of deprived schools in England

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Friday 5 July – General election results available

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