According to new figures from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), outcomes in primary maths have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with the findings revealing a learning loss of almost 1.5 months by the end of the 2022-23 autumn term for pupils in Years 5 and 6. Commenting on the findings, Jon Andrews, the think tank's head of analysis and director for school system and performance, said: “There is a risk that government focus on education recovery is waning and this analysis is a wake-up call that there is still much work to be done.” By Matilda Martin, Tes.

Addressing MPs on the Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee yesterday, Lucy Emmerson, chief executive of the Sex Education Forum, said relationships and sex education (RSE) in schools should be given the same status, training and funding as other specialist subjects. By Mark Gould, Tes.

Campaigners have told ministers on the Commons Women and Equalities Committee that schools need to ban smartphones in schools in order to address the “damage” being done from children watching pornography. Removing phones from pupils would reduce their exposure to online pornography and stop them from “upskirting” other pupils, according to the Family Education Trust charity. By Eleanor Busby, The Independent.

In draft guidance published for consultation, Ofqual has warned against schools over-assessing pupils to collect evidence should exams not go ahead in the future. The exams watchdog has said that as long as mock exams are completed in line with the guidance published today - and set to come into effect from 2024 - one full set of mocks “should be sufficient”. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

A study by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has found that sending a child to a state secondary school costs families at least £39 each week, and £19 a week for children at primary school. The associated costs of transport, lunch, uniform, school trips and learning materials combined amounts to hundreds of pounds a year for each child at a UK state school, with low-income families from England facing the highest costs. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

According to the Office for Statistics Regulation, the government's claim that its teacher pay deal is "fully-funded" on a national level is supported by evidence, but ministers should be more transparent about affordability for individual schools. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

Writing in Tes, Luke Ramsden, deputy head of an independent school and chair of trustees for the Schools Consent Project, describes how a student mentoring programme at his school is beneficial for all involved.

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