New figures from the Department for Education (DfE) have revealed that almost one in four pupils in England were persistently absent from school last autumn due to COVID and other illnesses. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

According to The Times, more secondary school pupils will receive tutoring and extra lessons from September when the Government doubles its funding for the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), the flagship scheme launched to help children recover learning lost during the pandemic. By Emma Yeomans.

Seven tuition providers under the NTP have warned the education secretary that the scheme's failure to focus on poorer children will widen the attainment gap. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

State schools have been invited to Enlightened Education, a conference organised by the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) and Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS), with the aim to "to get as many heads and other school leaders from the independent and state-funded schools across the UK and Ireland together". By Henry Hepburn, Tes.

Tes outlies 10 key changes schools need to know from the new Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance, which comes into effect on 1 September, 2022. By Grainne Hallahan.

A government report on the first term of the early career framework (ECF) has found that around half of new teachers and their mentors have struggled to balance training and support with their teaching commitments. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

In response to the findings, ministers are proposing a new crackdown to ensure schools face “rigorous checks” on their legal duty to give new teachers and their mentors time off timetable to train. By James Carr, Schools Week.

According to a YouGov survey of more than 1,000 teachers and school leaders, four in 10 teachers would not go back into the profession if they had the chance to start their career over. By John Roberts, Tes.

Universities Scotland has warned that some institutions would see their research excellence grant fall by 10 per cent in the next year, after the Scottish Funding Council announced that the overall revenue budget for universities is being increased by just 2 per cent. By Marc Horne, The Times.

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