Earlier this month, Sevenoaks School celebrated British Science Week’s theme of 'Curiosity: What’s your question?', inviting its partner schools and local community to join in. What unfolded was a lively, collaborative festival of science, technology, and discovery, with pupils and staff guiding more than 2,400 primary school children through hands-on experiments and presentations.

The week opened with spectacular demonstrations for younger visitors, featuring a thrilling Liquid Nitrogen Show run by the school’s head of physics, James Tate, and the Royal Institution’s dynamic, hands-on Energy Live! experience. For older students and the wider community, including members of the U3A, Professor Jack Stilgoe from UCL drew a captivated audience with his talk entitled 'How to think about new technologies: From self-driving cars to ChatGPT'. 

The week closed with a buzzing Science and Technology Fair, run entirely by Sevenoaks' sixth formers as part of their International Baccalaureate CAS programme. It was a fitting finale to a week that showcased not only scientific curiosity, but the strength of community partnerships and the joy of inspiring young people.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Ali Galloni, head of science at Sevenoaks, said: "We’re delighted to see many local primary school children expand their knowledge of science during this year’s STEM week. This year’s focus on curiosity enabled us to approach science and learning from a different perspective, helping children to make sense of the world."

Kate, the parent of a Year 3 child at Lady Boswell’s C of E Primary School, added: "The Liquid Nitrogen talk was brilliant, with the right balance of education and fun. I’m convinced my daughter thought she’d experienced just an exciting display of pops and bangs but she remembers the terms ductile and superconductor that were discussed by Mr Tate. I know that the staff, students and accompanying parents from Lady Boswell’s had a fantastic time and it inspired all the children who attended."

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The Daily News Summary will be taking a short pause for the Easter break. We wish you all a very enjoyable Easter holiday.

Children under the age of five should have their screen time limited to one hour a day, while under-twos should not watch screens alone, according to new official guidance being released today. It is the first evidence-backed, practical advice issued by the government, with ministers saying it will be kept under review as more evidence emerges. The guidance also says not all screen time is the same, and that parents should lead by example since children's brains are "like sponges – they'll copy your screen use habits". BBC News talks to parent Alexis, who says managing her children’s screen use is a daily struggle. She admits screens are often used out of necessity "to avoid conflicts and meltdowns", highlighting the tension parents face between ideal limits and the realities of busy family life. The news item is accompanied by a summary of the guidance, detailing the key points. By Vanessa Clarke.

The full guidance is available at the government's Best Start in Life website. 

The number of pupils in England missing more than half of term time rose to a record 2.4 per cent last year, according to figures published by the Department for Education (DfE). It marks a slight increase from 2.3 per cent in 2023-24 and remains nearly three times higher than the pre-pandemic rate in 2018-19. Around 7.5 per cent of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) were classed as severely absent last year, meaning they missed at least 50 per cent of classes. Commenting on the figures, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union, called for further investment in mental health services to help address the "deep-rooted" causes of absence. By Poppy Wood and Samuel Montgomery, The Telegraph.

Top secondary schools are turning away children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) because of funding delays, not because they are trying to boost grades, comprehensive school teacher Adrian Miller has warned. Speaking to iNews, Mr Miller, who works at Comberton Village College in Cambridgeshire, said local authorities can be "very slow" in providing funding for EHCPs, which "creates a lack in school budgets, because SEND students need more intensive teaching". His comments come as research from the Sutton Trust showed the top 500 secondary schools in England admit about half as many children with SEND from disadvantaged backgrounds as the average comprehensive. By Alexa Phillips.

In light of the DfE announcing its plan for every mainstream school to have a resource base, Dr Nigel Matthias and Kerri-Anne Leavy, leaders at King’s Group Academies, explain how special schools can help to make it a success. "By using the expertise of special-school colleagues, we can ensure that every pupil, regardless of their starting point or setting, receives the specialised care and academic challenge they deserve," they write. Tes. 

Writing in Tes, Mike Blakey, chief education officer at Outcomes First Group, highlights the importance of using more positive, neuro-affirming language in order to improve outcomes for pupils with SEND. Urging the government's reforms to "tackle language and labels head‑on", he says: "If national guidance continues to rely on terms that flatten individuality and reinforce outdated narratives, schools will struggle to deliver the inclusive, needs‑led approaches that policymakers are rightly calling for."

Tes explores the DfE's challenge of introducing an inclusion base in every mainstream secondary school after the paper's analysis revealed huge regional gaps in provision. By John Roberts. 

In the latest blog for the ISC, Clare Hamilton, sub-warden at St Edward’s School, Oxford, reflects on the positive impact a strict mobile phone policy has had on school life. Improvements include book loans going up by a third since the policy was first introduced, with staff reporting that boarding school life is "livelier and more engaged". Ms Hamilton adds that the approach is about balance, and concludes: "This is not about shutting our children off from the digital world, it is about giving them the tools to navigate it in their own space and time, and with confidence and control."

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