In the news: your weekly round-up

Top stories

Concerning “lack of urgency” from political parties around the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) crisis in schools, according to the Education Policy Institute (EPI). The think tank describes the crisis in SEND support as the “most pressing” funding concern for schools [Schools Week]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Understand how provision for pupils with SEND is funded in your school. 

Third of primary schools currently offer a food bank and two-thirds of primary staff have seen an increase in pupils coming to school hungry and tired, according to data from the anti-poverty charity, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation [Tes Magazine - subscription required]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Learn how to help your school generate income and find potential solutions for raising much-needed funds. 

Headteachers call out mental health and anxiety as the main cause of rising absence rates since the pandemic. They also blame an increase in term-time holidays and the deterioration of the home/school partnership [The Guardian]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Understand your role in improving pupil mental health by keeping them safe online, and reducing their access to harmful content.

This week's headlines

Schools Week

• Universal free school meals funding decision delayed by election
• Labour recruitment funding will fall short of targets – but could help with retention
• Unions call for unspent buildings funding to be given to schools
• Shadow education secretary looking to “get education back up the agenda”
• Investigation into £200m academy trust handouts leads to calls for transparency
• 8 funding streams for new trusts or those looking to grow
• Improving retention is teachers’ number 1 election policy priority, according to new Teacher Tapp poll
• Labour’s Ofsted report cards: how the proposed replacement for single grade judgements would work

Tes Magazine – registration required

• Manifesto pledges leave schools without much information about next year's budgets
• Calls for “full transparency” of MAT growth advisory meetings after pause
• Secondary school pupils in England are less likely than their international peers to say creativity is valued
• £5m to be spent by DfE researching risks of older school buildings
• Sexual harassment and sexism a significant issue, say support staff
• Deprived schools worst hit by teacher absence, impacting pupils currently taking GCSEs
• 72% of teachers have considered leaving teaching due to the “negative impact” of Ofsted
• Increase in number of schools training mental health 'triage' staff to deal with rising cases

BBC News

• Fears for children as councils’ SEN budgets tighten

The Guardian 

• Record 576,000 pupils have SEN support plans in place in England
• Holocaust survivors to use AI to ‘future-proof’ their stories for UK schools
• Paying private school fees years ahead could create VAT disputes, experts warn
• Private school pupils have 10 times more green space than state school pupils
• Lack of access to green space contributing to child obesity crisis, doctors warn
• Design & technology (D&T) could be removed from the National Curriculum in 4 years, unless uptake increases
• Arts in state schools must be a priority for the next government, according to theatre leaders

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