Is there a path to recovery for Ofsted? As the watchdog faces renewed calls for major reform, including from the education secretary, @johngroberts.bsky.social examines what has gone wrong and the options now facing ministers and inspectors. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Is Ofsted on the brink and is there a way back?

Amid fierce criticism of its school inspections, Ofsted has been asked by education secretary Lucy Powell to go ‘back to the drawing board’. John Roberts assesses whether it can find a path out of thi...

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Schools to teach vocational GCSEs from 2029, govt confirms. Quals regulated by Ofqual and replace existing Tech Awards. Performance measures to be adapted and consultation later this year. Govt insists technical pathways still start from 2028. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Excl: 14-16 technical education pathways "not deliverable" in all schools from 2028, @munirawilson.bsky.social tells me. The Lib Dems education spokesperson says she was "amazed" at the speed of the PM's announcement in July. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Technical pathways in schools ‘not deliverable’ by 2028

Liberal Democrats’ education spokesperson Munira Wilson tells Tes she is ‘amazed’ at the pace of the government’s vocational education plans

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Excl: Systems in place to create the best behaviour in schools ever, the govt's lead behaviour adviser tells me. Tom Bennett talks exclusions, SEND, criticisms, attendance & behaviour hubs - and how to evaluate latest behaviour policy iteration. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Excl: Education Sec Lucy Powell tells @cerysturner.bsky.social of hope to move away from "dog eat dog" culture in favour of a more collaborative system. Powell also provides details on 14-16 vocational studies announced by the PM in July. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Powell: No more ‘dog eat dog’ culture between schools

Education secretary tells Tes she is ‘agnostic’ about school structures as she sets out her ambitions for technical education

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Excl: Inclusive schools "damaged" as analysis shows those with larger proportion of pupils with SEND consistently graded lower across Ofsted's evaluation areas, including on inclusion. @tesmagazine.bsky.social Story @johngroberts.bsky.social @cerysturner.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

New: At current delivery rates, the govt's free breakfast clubs scheme won’t reach all primaries until 2033 - four years past the 2029 pledge. DfE says 2,700 clubs are open, leaving roughly 14,000 without one and under three years to deliver. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Free breakfast clubs scheme will take 7 years at current pace

DfE wants all primary schools to have free breakfast clubs by the end of this Parliament, but 17 months into the scheme, more than 14,000 schools are still without one

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New: After late Sats results and marking issues last year, DfE now apologises to primary heads for a KS2 data error misclassifying pupils’ prior attainment. @naht.org.uk says this does "nothing to restore trust" in Sats. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

DfE apologises to primary heads for prior attainment error

Schools are advised that progress scores will not be affected, but heads voice fears about ‘additional stress and workload’

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How entrenched is the regional divide in A-level outcomes? Of the 33 LAs where the share of A*/A grades fell between 2019 and 2026, 21 were in the North. A similar pattern emerges for grades C or higher over the same period. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Heads are demanding "absolute clarity" after Education Sec Lucy Powell wrote to the Commons Select Committee insinuating that new or reformed qualifications at GCSE level may be required to aid technical pathways announced in July. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Leaders demand clarity as Powell proposes new tech qualifications

After the education secretary’s suggestion that brand new GCSE-level qualifications may be created for flagship technical routes policy, school leaders warn of need for extra funding and training

tes.com

Reporter @ktorm-social1.bsky.social breaks down this year’s GCSE results by subject: 🔹 Reductions in pass rates for English and maths 🔹 Better grades in languages 🔹 All sciences saw an uptick in top grades awarded

Which GCSE subject delivered the most top grades in 2026?

Tes analyses the subject-by-subject changes in exam results in England, including reductions in pass rates for English and maths and better grades in languages

tes.com

Reporter @ktorm-social1.bsky.social breaks down this year’s A-level results by subject: ♦️ Maths and English literature saw a bigger increase in A*/As ♦️ Boys recorded more top grades in all sciences ♦️ Psychology was the second most popular subject

Which A-level subjects recorded the highest grades in 2026?

Maths and English literature both saw a bigger increase in top A-level grades this year than the marginal rise recorded across all subjects

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This year’s A-level results show that the regional divide in students getting the top grades in England has widened again – and also reveal an increase in the top grades awarded and in the overall pass rate

A-level results 2026: regional divide grows again

Today’s A-level results for England also reveal increases in the top grades awarded and in the overall pass rate

tes.com

After the PM announced new technical pathways for Year 10, @teachertapp.bsky.social data shared with Tes reveals over a quarter of schools offer no KS4 vocational qualifications - and they’re more common in less affluent schools. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

After a major education policy shakeup the sector is left with far more questions than answers. @tesmagazine.bsky.social summarises what we know about new technical education pathways and what remains unanswered. @cerysturner.bsky.social @johngroberts.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

New technical routes for schools: what we do and don’t know

A huge announcement on secondary education was made by Andy Burnham last night, begging a raft of questions. We set out the answers the sector needs and the detail - where it exists - we know already

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'Compatible' teaching of RE and science could boost interest in Stem - @ktorm-social1.bsky.social reports www.tes.com/magazine/new... @ucl.ac.uk @tesmagazine.bsky.social

‘Compatible’ teaching of RE and science could boost interest in Stem

Many secondary students do not see science and religion as ‘contradictory’, UCL research suggests - and ‘connected’ teaching of the subjects can encourage further Stem studies

tes.com

Excl: DfE accused of showing “scant regard” for schools after publishing significant policy updates just weeks before the end of term. @tesmagazine.bsky.social Story with @jabedahmed.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Late DfE policy dump ‘shows scant regard’ for schools

Schools tell Tes they have been left with little time to implement significant policy changes on safeguarding, enrichment and attendance after the DfE released substantial updates late in the summer t...

tes.com

Excl: Despite gov’t backing a social media ban & the NCA advising parents against sharing photos of kids, most schools post pupils' photos on socials. If a ban goes ahead, kids won't consent to being posted or legally be able to view the photos. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Most primary schools post pictures of pupils on social media

As new National Crime Agency guidance warns parents against posting images of their children online, Teacher Tapp research reveals most schools show pictures of pupils on public platforms

tes.com

Excl: Exam board OCR stands by decision not to re-mark GCSE paper despite an upheld complaint from Ofqual and pressure from Tories. OCR says it wishes to protect the “integrity” of exams and the watchdog considers the matter ongoing. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

OCR defends decision not to re-mark controversial GCSE paper

Exam board’s managing director, in an exclusive Tes interview, says that despite a complaint being upheld by Ofqual and pressure from Tories, it cannot award marks for ‘incorrect answers’

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Excl: More than 1/3 schools inspected by Ofsted this year are facing monitoring inspections - more than double the proportion under the previous framework. Heads say this is exactly what they had warned about. Story @cerysturner.bsky.social @johngroberts.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

More than 1 in 3 inspected schools face Ofsted monitoring

Tes analysis reveals a big increase in Ofsted monitoring inspections, prompting warnings about school leaders’ wellbeing and inspector workload

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With new guidance on pupils questioning their gender, AI-generated deepfakes, data protection and more, schools have just two weeks of term and 54 days in total to implement significant changes to safeguarding policies required under KCSIE. @tesmagazine.bsky.social

KCSIE changes for 2026: what you need to know

Updated safeguarding guidance has now been published, with schools expected to be fully compliant by 1 September

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New: 2010-15 coalition gov't was wrong to “neglect” the Sure Start strategy, its former education sec Lord Gove has said. Speaking at @csjthinktank.bsky.social NEET crisis panel, he said Bridget Phillipson is right to focus on school-readiness. @tesmagazine.bsky.social

Gove: Coalition government wrong to ‘neglect’ Sure Start

Speaking on a panel with the author of the review into the Neet problem, the former Conservative education secretary says Bridget Phillipson is right in prioritising school readiness

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Excl: Key Stage 2 Sats results are set to be delayed by a minimum of a week, Tes understands. Schools were expecting the data next Tuesday, but issues with marking and IT systems have resulted in a postponement. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

KS2 Sats results delayed by at least a week

Primary schools were due to receive the assessment results next Tuesday but there will be a delay because of problems with marking and IT systems

tes.com

🚨EXCL: Teachers will get a 3.5% pay deal for the upcoming year. - Schools to fund the first 1% - A further 3% offered for 2027-28 More from @tesmagazine.bsky.social: www.tes.com/magazine/new...

New: DfE's influencer spend tops £700k since 2024, raising questions over gov't priorities from shadow education sec Laura Trott. For Lib Dems' Munira Wilson, it's a “kick in the teeth”. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/dfe-spending-on-social-media-influencers-criticised

Have schools been put into an attendance trap? Important piece from @ktorm-social1.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new... @tesmagazine.bsky.social

Have schools been put into an attendance trap?

New guidance on communicating with parents about absence leaves schools with the ‘all but impossible’ task of improving attendance without being able to hold families to account, warn leaders

tes.com

Amid increasing attendance targets and a sharper policy focus, new guidance tells schools to strike a collegiate tone with parents, but leaders say the task is “all but impossible”. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/headteachers-warn-dfe-over-school-attendance-guidance

Excl: Exam board AQA has apologised after a mistake was identified in its GCSE science papers. AQA notified schools this afternoon and said it can ensure no pupils were disadvantaged. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

AQA apologises for mistake in 'all versions' of GCSE science paper

In correspondence seen by Tes, England's largest exam board tells exams officers it has reported the issue to Ofqual and will ensure no students are disadvantaged

tes.com

Excl: Exam board Pearson halted marking on a GCSE higher-tier maths exam after saying it wasn’t “confident” marks were being correctly recorded. Pearson tells Tes the issue is now fixed with no impact on accuracy. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Technical issues halt marking of GCSE maths paper

Pearson Edexcel says marking has now resumed and there has been no impact on its ‘accuracy or integrity’, after issues emerged last night

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Excl: One in ten schools’ rejected government offers of “enhanced support” through attendance and behaviour hubs. @ascl-uk.bsky.social says schools may not be confident the support available is suitable, while the DfE is “not concerned”. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Rejected: 1 in 10 offers of extra attendance and behaviour help

Schools targeted for help under DfE scheme may feel 'unfairly stigmatised', says heads' leader

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