Former Department for Education (DfE) permanent secretary Jonathan Slater has said that the current education system disincentivises schools from focusing on the pupils who need help the most. In a report published by UCL Policy Lab, he also warned that the system is not doing all it could for children who receive free school meals, who are still twice as likely as their peers to end up not in education, employment or training. Mr Slater suggests the DfE should test education reforms in several areas of the country, temporarily replacing Ofsted inspections in these areas with a new evaluation framework encouraging collaboration and innovation to boost outcomes. By Jasmine Norden, The Independent. 

The Department for Education has missed the deadline for submitting written evidence on a teacher pay deal to the School Teachers' Review Body, according to Tes. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, warned that the government's late submission "undermines the review body process" and "creates doubt in the teaching profession as to whether the government is serious about teacher pay". By Cerys Turner. 

Most teachers say that plans to create a new level of statutory support for pupils with additional needs in mainstream settings could improve their school's SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) provision, according to a survey by Teacher Tapp. The poll findings also show that support for the proposal is stronger among Sendcos than among other teachers. By John Roberts, Tes. 

All schools in England that received grant funding for the removal of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) should be free of it by 2029, education secretary Bridget Phillipson has pledged. Setting out the new timeline, she said: "We inherited a crumbling education estate, but I won’t let that be our legacy. After years of neglect, we are giving every child a safe and high-quality classroom where they can focus on learning – by setting clear timelines for the permanent removal of RAAC from schools and colleges." By Sally Weale, The Guardian. 

The Times reports almost half a million children are eligible for home-to-school transport covered by local authorities, and tens of thousands with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are entitled to travel alone in taxis every day. The Department for Education data shows that about 470,000 pupils in England – six per cent of all schoolchildren under 16 – are eligible, and of these, around 180,000 are entitled to free transport because of SEND or mobility issues. By Georgia Lambert.

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