I’ve learnt so much covering education with the wonderful Tes team over the last two years. But I’m very excited to be returning to the world of culture... this week I start as deputy books and arts editor on the Observer New Review.
Ellen Peirson-Hagger
@ellencph.bsky.social
Deputy books and arts editor, the Observer ellencph.co.uk
'I can probably characterise the whole review as being about balances and trade-offs…' In an exclusive, in-depth interview, @beckyfrancis.bsky.social talks about the challenges of the curriculum review and the evidence behind its recommendations
Becky Francis: How we reached our curriculum recommendations
In an exclusive interview, curriculum and assessment review lead Becky Francis speaks to Tes about its recommendations and the evidence underpinning them
tes.com
🚨The govt will scrap the EBacc, cut GCSE exam time by up to three hours & make sure every school meets "enrichment benchmarks". Here are all the key proposals from the curriculum and assessment review, plus which reforms the government has accepted so far:
Curriculum and assessment review: 14 key points
The Francis review’s final recommendations include scrapping the EBacc, reducing exam time and making triple science available to all at GCSE
tes.com
A group of MAT leaders is calling for all students to experience at least 80 hours of high-quality enrichment per year
Trust leaders back 80-hour ‘enrichment guarantee’
The benchmark is one of several adopted by the government as a ‘starting point’ for its new enrichment framework for schools, leader tells Tes
tes.com
Read the full story on the White Paper delay here ⬇️
SEND: White Paper delayed until 2026, Phillipson reveals
Government had been expected to set out plans for SEND reforms before the end of the year
tes.com
Tes magazine@tesmagazine.bsky.social · 10mo agoBreaking: The government has delayed the publication of its schools White Paper, which would detail its SEND reform plans, until early 2026. More to follow.
TES article on our ESIS report after Natasha and I were interviewed, and featuring great examples of curricula change from history teachers across the country. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...
Why are women missing from school history?
The extent to which history lessons ignore female figures has been revealed by new research. Here, teachers share the changes they are making to address this gender imbalance
tes.com
A recent report found that 59 per cent of key stage 3 history lessons don’t feature any women. Will the Curriculum Review address that? In the meantime, I spoke to history teachers about the changes they are making to address this gender imbalance in their classes, for @tesmagazine.bsky.social
Why are women missing from school history?
The extent to which history lessons ignore female figures has been revealed by new research. Here, teachers share the changes they are making to address this gender imbalance
tes.com
A requirement for new headteachers to hold a SEND qualification could transform the system, because there are schools that currently do not make inclusive decisions, a leading MP said today
Call for heads’ SEND qualification is questioned
MP defends plan to require new school leaders to have expertise in special educational needs, during Labour conference event
tes.com
Excl: The PM claimed yesterday that he had invited other political parties to work with the government on SEND reform, but neither the Lib Dem’s or the Conservatives have received any such invite. www.tes.com/magazine/new...
PM claim of SEND reform invitation is rejected by opponents
Conservatives and Liberal Democrats reject Sir Keir Starmer’s insistence that he invited political parties to collaborate on SEND reform
tes.com
This week the government pledged to ensure all primary schools in England have libraries. It seems a well-intentioned policy, but do 1,700 primaries really not have one? And how important is a separate library room in instilling a child’s love of reading anyway? My @tesmagazine.bsky.social piece
Does the government primary school library promise add up?
Labour has announced that every primary school will have its own library by 2029, but questions about funding and implementation remain, finds Ellen Peirson-Hagger
tes.com
Is Ofsted’s inclusion measure fair to over-capacity special schools directed to take pupils whose needs they’re not equipped to meet? Lots of concern from the specialist sector here inc from @simonknight100.bsky.social and @warrencarratt.bsky.social Great reporting by @johngroberts.bsky.social
Special schools fear ‘subjective’ Ofsted judgements
Inclusion focus risks ‘danger’ for schools directed to take on pupils whose needs they cannot meet, warns leader
tes.com
Despite alarming headlines on youth violence, a @tesmagazine.bsky.social FOI request reveals that in-school knife incidents are down in many areas. I spoke to leaders about what schools are doing to drive this reduction
What the data on knife crime suggests schools should do next
New figures show that in-school knife crime incidents have decreased in many areas of England. Ellen Peirson-Hagger hears from leaders about what they are doing to drive this reduction, and whether it...
tes.com
“Because there’s so much attention on white working-class boys’ underachievement, the girls can be overlooked - and they are underperforming.” Fascinating and important long read by @charlottesantry.bsky.social
How the system forgot about white working-class girls
While the underachievement of white working-class boys has attracted political attention, the struggles of disadvantaged white girls continue to be overlooked. School leaders tell Tes why this needs t...
tes.com
Is flexible working truly possible for teachers, and what kind of impact might it have on recruitment and retention? A year on from launching their nine-day fortnight, Dixons Academies Trust says they have seen countless benefits. I heard about the challenges and rewards of this radical policy
Dixons’ nine-day fortnight: how’s it working a year on?
Since launching its ground-breaking nine-day fortnight a year ago, Dixons Academies Trust says it has seen a drop in staff turnover and sickness absence. Ellen Peirson-Hagger asks about the challenges...
tes.com
Just seven of the 100 schools with the highest rates of disadvantage and the lowest rates of EAL have a positive Progress 8 score. Leaders say the metric leaves schools in an “impossible situation”. Nick Gibb says it simply reveals which need to “improve”... Is this system inherently unjust?
The ‘impossible situation’ of Progress 8 in white, working-class schools
Just seven of the 100 schools with the highest rates of disadvantage and the lowest rates of English as an additional language have a positive P8. With the metric on pause, is it time to rethink it?
tes.com
In her new book, Laura Bates describes how deepfake pornography created by students “for free on their lunch breaks” can be used to target their female peers and teachers. PSHE lead Charli Faux writes for Tes on how to help keep students safe from “the next epidemic of sexual violence”
The ‘next epidemic of sexual violence’ and what it means for schools
AI is creating new threats to girls, and teachers will be on the frontline of it, argues a PSHE lead at an all girls’ school, who shares her advice on how to help keep students safe
tes.com
#Ofsted has published its final report-card inspection plans, with changes including: 🔹 Reducing the number of evaluation areas to six 🔹 Renaming the grades 🔹 Changing the toolkits inspectors will use Here’s everything you need to know…
Ofsted: first report-card inspections will be voluntary
Watchdog pushes ahead with plan for a five-point grading scale but announces a series of changes to school inspections launching this term
tes.com
A @tesmagazine.bsky.social investigation by @jasminenorden.bsky.social into the rise of violent incidents causing injuries to pupils and staff. www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Revealed: the rise in violent incidents in schools
Tes investigation leads to warning that teachers and pupils need ‘urgent help’ to deal with rising levels of violence
tes.com
“Unless it goes kaboom, there’s no money.” Rusting fire escapes, legionella and classrooms reaching 53C... School leaders tell me how the funding crisis is also a vast building safety crisis, with particular concern in special schools
‘Our site is on a knife edge’: the school buildings crisis deepens
Rusting fire escapes, legionella and classrooms that reach 53C: a lack of funding for buildings maintenance is putting pupils and staff at risk, leaders tell Ellen Peirson-Hagger. Will government inte...
tes.com
“What Jon is selling is fear. It’s not scientific.” Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation has sold 2 million copies and been hugely influential in the case for banning smartphones for young people. But critics say his evidence doesn’t stand up Fascinating Tes piece by @jonsevers.bsky.social
Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones?
In ‘The Anxious Generation’, Haidt makes the case that social media and smartphones have ‘rewired’ today’s teenagers, but his critics say the evidence tells us something very different - and that bann...
tes.com
More than 700,000 GCSE physics students could be without a specialist teacher, @thenfer.bsky.social analysis shows, with @instituteofphysics.bsky.social calling for urgent action to tackle the shortage
700,000 GCSE students may lack a physics specialist, report warns
The Institute of Physics has called for urgent action to tackle the shortage in physics teachers to stop students missing out
tes.com
On the train to Berlin with an Italian novel and a German chocolate bar. My route: London to Brussels to Frankfurt (usually would be Cologne, impossible today due to works) to Berlin, all in a day
From the number of GCSEs entered per student to the most popular subjects, here are six key trends from today’s results data that schools need to know
6 data insights from GCSE results
Looking beyond the headline outcomes from GCSE results day, Tes picks through the data to reveal trends that schools should know about
tes.com
From the most popular subject combinations to the number of exams being sat, @ellencph.bsky.social and @dan-worth.bsky.social round up seven key trends you need to know from this year’s A-level results day
A-level results 2025: 7 key trends you need to know
With a huge amount of A-level results data published today, Tes has analysed the key information to bring you the most important insights
tes.com
New this morning: The regional divide in achieving the top A-level grades has widened as the North East saw a fall in As and A*s this year - all the main trends here: www.tes.com/magazine/new...
A-level results 2025: regional divide grows
Both the proportion of top grades awarded and the pass rate have seen a slight growth in England in 2025
tes.com
"Over a quarter of pupils are leaving primary school not meeting the expected standard in reading. This goes up to 40 per cent for white, working-class pupils, and 59 per cent for those with special educational needs." An argument for fixing basic literacy before promoting reading for pleasure...
Fix basic literacy before promoting reading for pleasure
The government’s priority should be helping the many pupils who are behind with their reading - and we know exactly how to do it, writes FFT’s Mike Fischer
tes.com
Updated government guidance says schools should be teaching students how to properly name body parts. It's a watershed moment for sex education, finds @dan-worth.bsky.social
RSHE guidance: Why properly naming body parts is a big deal
Updated guidance saying that proper terms like penis, vulva and vagina should be taught to primary pupils has been welcomed by sex education experts and safeguarding leads
tes.com
Inclusion in schools is the big policy focus of the moment. But is a drive to stop bad practice missing from the agenda? My long read for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Is a drive to stop bad practice missing from the inclusion agenda?
Leaders call for scrutiny of admissions, pupil movement and the impact of sanctions on students with special educational needs and disabilities
tes.com
The traumatic experience of tribunals for EHCPs is often told from the parents' perspective - for good reasons - but looking at it from the school perspective tells us a huge amount about the disaster of the current system. Excellent piece from @ellencph.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/ana...
EHCP tribunals: why schools' struggles must guide SEND reform
If the government's plans for tackling the SEND crisis are to be successful, it has to look at the difficulties that the tribunal process is creating for schools, finds Ellen Peirson-Hagger
tes.com
Everyone knows the SEND tribunal process can be a nightmare for parents. But how does it affect schools? I spoke to special school leaders who describe a ‘frustrating’ and ‘oversaturated’ legal system in urgent need of reform
EHCP tribunals: why schools’ struggles must guide SEND reform
If the government’s plans for tackling the SEND crisis are to be successful, it has to look at the difficulties that the tribunal process is creating for schools, finds Ellen Peirson-Hagger
tes.com