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• Teacher Supply at Critical Levels

  Monday, March 25, 2024

  Teacher supply is in a critical state, risking the quality of education, according to a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). While recruitment is expected to improve this year, it will be far below target, with research suggesting 10 out of 17 secondary subjects under-recruiting in 2024/25.

• DfE Lowers Secondary Teacher Recruitment Target

  Tuesday, March 19, 2024

  The department’s secondary target has been lowered by nine percent, meaning that it needs to recruit 23,955 for training in September 2024, down from the target of 26,360 set last year which was missed by half.

• Teacher’s Pay Additional Grant Updated With New Allocations

  Friday, March 15, 2024

  The ESFA has updated its guidance on the teacher’s pay additional grant for 2023 to 2024 with the March 2024 allocations for special schools and alternative provision, which reflects the 2023 to 2024 financial year place numbers.

• Update to Non-Statutory Guidance on Optional KS1 Tests

  Thursday, March 14, 2024

  Following updates to its statutory guidance on KS2 tests earlier this week, the STA has updated its non-statutory guidance on administering tests and modified tests at KS1. This is the first version of the guidance released since the tests became optional. Schools that opted to partake in the tests will receive test materials from 1 May 2024.

• Updated Guidance: Responding to Sharing of Nudes Incidents

  Tuesday, March 12, 2024

  The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and the UK Council for Internet Safety have updated the ‘Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people’ non-statutory guidance. The update has expanded the guidance to cover nude image sharing incidents involving AI-generated images, and financially motivated sexual extortion.

• Teachers Working Longer Hours

  Saturday, March 9, 2024

  School teachers and leaders working more hours was a key finding published by the DfE from the second wave of the ‘working lives of teachers and leaders’ survey. Between February-May 2023, 10,000+ teachers and leaders answered questions about workload and wellbeing, pay, and professional development. This government study aims to explore factors affecting the supply, recruitment and retention of teachers and leaders.

• Locations of 20 Alternative Provision Free Schools Confirmed

  Friday, March 8, 2024

  The government has confirmed the location of 20 AP free schools in England as part of the Spending Review 2021 commitment to invest £2.6 billion capital in high needs provision. This will create over 1,600 additional AP places across England and will support early intervention.

• National School Breakfast Club Guidance Update

  Tuesday, March 5, 2024

  The National school breakfast club programme guidance has been updated to reflect participating schools will receive 75% subsidy for food and delivery costs of breakfast club provision until the end of July 2025.

• DfE Updated Attendance Guidance for Schools

  Saturday, March 2, 2024

  The DfE updated its webpage ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ to add new guidance which comes into effect on 19 August 2024. New regulations will require schools in England to now share their daily attendance registers across the sector as part of the Government’s attendance drive. The DfE also published a summary table of responsibilities for school attendance.

• National Careers Week: 4-9 March 2024

  Friday, March 1, 2024

  National Careers Week will run from 4-9 March this year, providing a focus for careers guidance activity at an important point in the academic year to help support young people who are leaving education.