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• Norovirus Cases Rise

  Friday, December 1, 2023

  NHS England has warned of a “much higher volume of norovirus cases compared to last year”, with an average of around 350 people in hospital each day with norovirus last week, compared with 126 in the same week last year. Washing hands frequently with soap and warm water is the best way to prevent norovirus spreading.

• The National Education Nature Park: How to Get Involved

  Friday, December 1, 2023

  Launched in October with the Natural History Museum and the Royal Horticultural Society, the National Education Nature Park offers children and young people the opportunity to take hands-on action to improve biodiversity and tackle climate change. Schools, colleges and nurseries that sign up will have access to a range of resources including digital tools, classroom activities, and an interactive map displaying the growing Nature Park across the school estate.

• School Recruitment and Retention Crisis: Making Schools Less Toxic

  Thursday, November 30, 2023

  More teachers want something different from their career. They want flexible working, career development, more challenge, better work-life balance, improved wellbeing, autonomy and purpose.

• DfE Release Technology Use and Suitability in Schools Survey Results

  Thursday, November 30, 2023

  In 2022, IFF Research was commissioned to conduct a five-wave biennial Technology in Schools Survey (TiSS). The aim was to help understand how best to support schools to embed and use technology in ways that support cost savings, workload reductions and improved pupil outcomes. The results have been published.

• Safer Internet Day - 6 February 2024

  Tuesday, November 28, 2023

  The UK Safer Internet Centre has made its official resources available to download for free ahead of Safer Internet Day on 6 February. The resources, created by online safety experts, enable schools to effectively embed online learning into lessons for pupils of all ages and focus on the theme of ‘Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’.

• Ofsted to Implement Changes to Post-inspection Process and Complaints Handling

  Monday, November 27, 2023

  From 12 June - 15 September, Ofsted ran a consultation seeking views on the following proposed changes:
  
  1. Enhanced on-site professional dialogue during inspections to help address any issues;
  2. A new opportunity for providers to contact Ofsted following an inspection;
  3. New arrangements for finalising reports and considering formal challenges to inspection;
  4. Replacing Ofsted’s current internal review process with a direct escalation to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted (ICASO).
  
  Ofsted announced that it will implement in two phases. Proposals 1 and 2 will come into effect in January 2024, and proposals 3 and 4 will come into effect in April 2024.
  
  Ofsted will also be updating its inspection handbooks and other published guidance to reflect these changes.

• National Grief Awareness Week (NGAW) is Next Week

  Saturday, November 25, 2023

  Hosted by the Good Grief Trust, NGAW is taking place from 2-8 December 2023. It is an opportunity to help the bereaved feel acknowledged and understood and signpost them to the right support. The charity Winston’s Wish has a range of resources that school staff can use to support grieving children.

• Mental Health of Children and Young People in England

  Friday, November 24, 2023

  One in five children and young people in England aged 8-25 had a probable mental disorder in 2023, according to new findings published this week.
  
  The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 Report, published by NHS England, also found that children aged 8-16 years with a probable mental disorder were seven times more likely than their peers to have missed more than 15 days of school in the Autumn term of 2022.
  
  Most children aged 11-16 years said that they were able to access support at school but they were less likely to agree that ’I feel comfortable talking to adults about my mental health’ (59.3% agreed) or ‘The support at my school is helpful’ (64.5% agreed).

• Public Accounts Committee Release Report on Condition of School Buildings

  Friday, November 24, 2023

  The Committee of Public Accounts have released their report on the condition of school buildings. An estimated 700,000 pupils attend the 1,200 schools that have been considered for the School Rebuilding Programme and are therefore deemed to be in need of major rebuilding or refurbishment.
  
  The Committee expressed concerns that the Department for Education does not have enough understanding of safety risks across school buildings for it to fully quantify and mitigate these risks.
  
  Issues highlighted included the DfE’s incomplete knowledge regarding asbestos across the school estate and the number and condition of schools with RAAC. The report recommended the DfE set out its strategy for encouraging responsible bodies to carry out timely and effective repairs.

• Measles Vaccine Rates Fall to Ten Year Low

  Wednesday, November 22, 2023

  Parents of children up to the age of five are being encouraged to check their child's vaccination records as recent figures show that only 84.5% of children had received the second shot of the MMR vaccine in 2022/2023 – this figure should be around 95%.