Henry Hepburn
@henryhepburn.bsky.social
Senior editor at Tes magazine https://www.tes.com/campaign/download-the-tes-magazine-app
Phonics test results show that the disadvantage gap has not shifted, but the proportion of pupils with SEND meeting the phonics standard has reached a new high
Phonics test results finally return to pre-Covid level
Wide disadvantage gap has not shifted but the proportion of pupils with SEND meeting the phonics standard reaches new high
tes.com
Nearly 90% of leaders said inspections under Ofsted’s new framework affected staff mental wellbeing, according to an independent evaluation – though the watchdog claims the report shows it is ‘on the right track’ www.tes.com/magazine/new...
The Department for Education is open to creating more specialist provision packages as part of its plan for a framework in which ‘no children will fall through the gap'
DfE open to more specialist packages for complex needs
Senior official tells Tes SEND Show it wants to create a framework where ‘no children fall through the gap’
tes.com
@ascl-uk.bsky.social passes a motion of no confidence in Ofsted’s leadership and in the watchdog's ability to address what the union describes as ‘the damage being done by the new inspection system’
ASCL passes motion of no confidence in Ofsted’s leadership
Union also considers indicative ballot on industrial action if more is not done to mitigate the impact of inspection on wellbeing
tes.com
Adrian Rodgers will step down as chief executive of Chiltern Learning Trust after 11 years following its merger with Inspiring Futures through Learning
Adrian Rogers to step down from Chiltern Learning Trust following merger
Sarah Bennett, who is the current CEO of Inspiring Futures through Learning, will lead the new 43-school trust
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Is Ofsted on the brink - and is there a way back? There's a lot of new data on Ofsted today, a lot of noise, but this from @johngroberts.bsky.social cuts through it all and is the thing you need to read to really understand the mess Ofsted is in. 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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Today, Ofsted has published findings of an independent evaluation into inspection. It revealed that nearly 90% of leaders said inspections under the new framework affected staff mental health
Nearly 9 in 10 schools say Ofsted inspection impacted staff mental health
Despite Ofsted welcoming findings from an independent evaluation of its inspections, heads’ leaders question Sir Martyn Oliver’s claim that the watchdog is ‘on the right track’
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Exclusive: Fears have been raised about the new requirement for MAT salaries above £174K to be approved by the DfE, with Tes analysis revealing that FE colleges have waited up to 6 months for pay applications to be decided
DfE takes nearly 6 months to decide senior pay case
The experience of colleges with government pay controls suggests academy trusts will be left in limbo waiting for executive salaries to be approved, leader warns
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5 key lessons from research on schools where disadvantaged pupils beat national averages for reading and writing at the end of key stage 2
5 strategies to close the literacy disadvantage gap
A researcher shares lessons from a study of seven schools where disadvantaged pupils beat national averages for reading and writing at the end of key stage 2
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Lucy Powell’s rhetoric since joining the DfE would seem to signal more change for schools – but leaders should find comfort in the fact that most policy shifts in recent years have been based on consistent ‘deep undercurrents’, writes @loicmnzs.bsky.social
How can schools weather England's constant policy churn?
It may feel as though change is the only constant in education policy, but looking to predictable undercurrents could help schools to pre-empt the next political shift, writes Loic Menzies
tes.com
Some 37% of secondary-aged girls say that periods stop them taking part in physical activity, according to a Youth Sport Trust survey
More than a third of girls say periods prevent them doing PE
Anxiety over periods is a major issue for girls, as Youth Sport Trust survey highlights gender divide in PE and physical activity participation levels
tes.com
Half of girls hear misogynistic comments at school - @jabedahmed.bsky.social reports www.tes.com/magazine/new... @tesmagazine.bsky.social
Half of girls hear misogynistic comments at school
Nearly a third of girls also heard language that made them worry about their safety in the previous week, DfE research shows
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Is the teacher pay rise in England ‘fully funded'? @jabedahmed.bsky.social and @jasminenorden.bsky.social report www.tes.com/magazine/new... @tesmagazine.bsky.social
Is the teacher pay rise ‘fully funded’?
Schools have been told they can cover this year’s teacher pay rise through pension savings. Tes explains what this actually means for budgets
tes.com
🌀 Language learning for GCSE students is in a ‘death spiral’ and the government needs to act to reverse the decline, warns @hepi-news.bsky.social
‘Death spiral’ in language learning demands action, government told
Think tank report finds ‘stark disparities’ in uptake of GCSE languages across different parts of England
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The KS3 Alliance is calling for evidence on how schools can improve students’ experience of the phase and establish a clearer purpose for the early secondary years, amid concerns that key stage 3 is ‘seriously overlooked’
KS3 Alliance launches national call for evidence on ‘overlooked’ phase
Schools and trusts are asked to help define the purpose of early secondary years amid concerns that students can lose engagement after Year 7
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Suspension and exclusion rates of primary pupils increased in the last academic year, with the biggest rises seen in the middle years of primary, @fftedudatalab.bsky.social analysis shows
Suspensions climb fastest in Years 2-4, data shows
Overall suspension rate is dropping but still climbing in primaries and remaining high among disadvantaged pupils, FFT analysis shows
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BREAKING: The teacher pay award for 2026-27 will be funded ‘at a national level’ from savings to employer contributions for support staff pensions, government claims
Teacher pay award to be funded through pension savings
Schools were initially told they would have to fund the first 1% of the 2026-27 teacher pay award
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Powell told to revamp 'dispiritingly dull' English curriculum - @johngroberts.bsky.social reports www.tes.com/magazine/new... @tesmagazine.bsky.social
Powell told to revamp ‘dispiritingly dull’ English curriculum
Education committee chair Helen Hayes writes to education secretary asking her to ‘look again’ at review of how English is being taught
tes.com
Schools that join academy trusts improve pupil attainment 'substantially more' than those run by local authorities, according to independently reviewed @cstvoice.bsky.social research
Pupil attainment rises ‘substantially’ more in MATs, finds study
But Confederation of School Trusts’ research report admits there is ‘uncertainty’ over the reasons why academies showed greater improvement in results
tes.com
Free breakfast clubs scheme will take 7 years at current pace - read the latest exclusive from @ktorm-social1.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new... @tesmagazine.bsky.social
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
tes.com
High SEND schools 5 times more likely to miss Ofsted inclusion standard - important report by @cerysturner.bsky.social @johngroberts.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new... @tesmagazine.bsky.social
High SEND schools 5 times more likely to miss Ofsted inclusion standard
Experts warn of ‘serious flaws’ in the watchdog’s framework and question why schools with higher levels of SEND and disadvantaged pupils are getting lower grades
tes.com
Tes magazine has published its first Mat Tracker newsletter, with insights, trends analysis, merger and acquisition updates, job moves, insider rumours and much more. Huge amount of work from Charlotte. Please do have a look, share and subscribe (it's free!).
Charlotte Santry@charlottesantry.bsky.social · last mo.📢Introducing the first ever @tesmagazine.bsky.social MAT Tracker newsletter! Free news, views, insight and intel for all those who work in/with multi-academy trusts. Access it every Thursday by signing up below 👇 tes-magazine-mat-tracker.beehiiv.com/p/lucy-powel...
📡 The first edition of our new Tes MAT Tracker newsletter is coming to your inbox tomorrow afternoon. Sign up here for free and be the first in the know:
Sign up to the Tes MAT Tracker newsletter
Our Tes MAT Tracker newsletter offers essential weekly insight for those working in or with academy trusts - sign up for free here
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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’
tes.com
The vast majority of secondary schools have less spending power now than they did in 2010, warns the @schoolcuts.bsky.social coalition, which says schools are faced with ‘impossible decisions’ about cutbacks
9 in 10 secondaries financially ‘worse off’ than in 2010
Coalition of teaching and school leader unions says schools would need an extra £4.5 billion a year to restore funding to 2010 levels
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✉️ Calls for clearer AI guidance, Reception test criticism and a DfE attainment error… Read all this and more in this morning’s Tes Daily newsletter ⬇️
Tes Daily: Schools ‘desperate’ for clearer AI guidance
Plus Reception test criticism and a DfE attainment error
tes-magazine-daily.beehiiv.com
Primary head Alison Helm sets out exactly how her school increased its good level of development score for Reception children from 50% to 83%
How we drove a huge increase in our GLD score in three years
A primary school leader outlines how a thorough redesign of its nursery site and more staff training had a huge impact on good level of development outcomes
tes.com
The Reception Baseline Assessment needs to be 'urgently reviewed' because it contradicts the government’s own guidance on screen time for young children, according to a letter to the education secretary backed by more than 130 prominent figures
Early years experts demand 'urgent review' of RBA
The Reception Baseline Assessment contradicts the government’s own screen-time guidance for young children, says letter to education secretary
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Exclusive: DfE apologises to primary heads for a mistake in classifying pupils’ prior attainment – but leaders warn of ‘additional stress and workload’ as a result of the data error
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’
tes.com
Every school should have an inclusion statement written and published by 1 January. Here, @jasminenorden.bsky.social asks experts what should be in it and how to make sure it makes a genuine difference. A great resource for all in schools ⬇️ www.tes.com/magazine/tea...
How to write your inclusion strategy statement
Every school needs to publish an inclusion strategy statement by 31 December - Jasmine Norden asks experts what should be in it and how to put it together
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