News

Schools are walking an attendance tightrope amid government pressure and more parental opposition

The national curriculum does not teach children enough about getting out of difficulty in open water, a headteacher has said.

Minimum penalty notices for parents who take their child on holiday in term-time without permission have increased to £80 this year.

The education secretary has said GCSE students should continue to be given formula and equation sheets to help in their exams.

A special needs school in Maidstone has opened a café in a train carriage to offer on-the-job training.

Three in four headteachers are struggling to recruit teaching assistants, with most secondary and special school leaders anticipating needing more to cope with rising SEND demand.

A government-commissioned report also found low pay was a ‘key reason why some TAs considered leaving the role’, and that a lack of opportunities for progression is a bugbear for around half of them.

A school has increased the size of some of its maths classes to 60 pupils due to a “national shortage of specialist teachers”.

A community in Kent is fighting to save a children’s centre which is at risk of being closed due to a funding cut.
Millmead Children’s Centre, on Dane Valley Road, Margate, is one of two centres facing closure due to cost savings by Kent County Council (KCC).
An eight-week public consultation on the future of the hubs closed on Sunday.
Jan Collins, who chairs the Millmead Family Hub, said it would be disastrous for the local area if the centre does not have its grant: ‘There are families under the responsibility of our safeguarding and child protection role, that will have to go elsewhere.”

Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) might lose their extra support at private schools once a 20% VAT is introduced.