A survey of more than 4,000 members of the NASUWT union has found that almost three in 10 teachers said their school declared a COVID outbreak last term and around half reported having tested positive since January. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

According to The Telegraph, primary schools in major British cities have reported a steep decline in requests for places due to the falling birth rate and the pandemic which prompted a flight from major cities to the suburbs. By Rosa Silverman.

Members of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) attending the union's annual conference have warned that their working hours have become “blurred” since the pandemic, adding that parents and pupils feel they can call on teachers “24 hours a day, seven days a week”. By Max Stephens, The Telegraph.

Teachers at the NASUWT conference have voted in favour of a motion to produce more resources to tackle right-wing nationalism, warning that the “gradual normalisation” of far-right views is filtering through to classrooms. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

Elaine Paling, an NASUWT leader, has claimed that going to work is “like walking into the land of the giants”, highlighting that the average height of a 14-year-old male pupil has increased from 4ft 10in to 5ft 8in over the last 50 years, while the average weight has risen from 5st 10lb to 8.5st.’ By Max Stephens, The Telegraph.

Tes reports on the speech given by Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, at the union’s annual conference in which he called for “a real pay rise” for teachers, a working time limit and the end of what he described as “fire and rehire” practices in independent schools, following strike action earlier this year in response to some schools’ plans to withdraw from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS). By Callum Mason. The ISC’s statement in response to Dr Roach’s comments can be read here.

Nadine Dorries, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport and Rachel de Souza, the children's commissioner, write for The Telegraph outlining the proposed Online Harms Bill, adding “it has a very simple guiding principle at its heart: we must do more in the digital age to protect children online”.

The Times features expert advice for parents on how they can help their children through exam season. By Anna Maxted. The article quotes Olivera Raraty, head of Malvern St James Girls’ School.

Nadhim Zahawi is set to announce that a new GCSE in natural history, which will focus on the importance of the natural world and how to “conserve the planet”, will be available to students from 2025. By Tony Diver, The Telegraph.

Former prime minister Tony Blair has called for 70 per cent of young people to go onto higher education. A report from the Tony Blair Institute, due to be published this week, suggests that if seven in 10 young people completed higher education it would “significantly” raise the rate of productivity growth. By Rachel Sylvester, The Times.

The former chancellor George Osborne has criticised the Conservative Party for dropping targets to get more people going to university following Tony Blair’s call for more young people to go onto higher education. By Will Hazell, iNews.

According to The Times, Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang will donate hundreds of keyboards to British state schools to create “piano labs” and bring music to disadvantaged children. By Emma Yeomans.

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