ISC Daily News Summary

Teachers and school support staff in England are to vote on whether or not to take industrial action if ministers stand by their pay recommendation for the next academic year. The National Education Union (NEU) has said it will hold a formal ballot in the autumn if the government "does not take urgent action". Ministers have recommended a 6.5 per cent pay award spread across the next three years, but the NEU has said that is unlikely to match inflation and described it as an "insult". An informal indicative ballot held already this year, with a turnout of 48.6 per cent, suggested 90.5 per cent of teachers in membership of the NEU would be prepared to strike over pay. By Hazel Shearing, BBC News. 

Physics has become the sixth most popular A level in England but schools have been impacted by a chronic shortage of specialist teachers, with the majority of postgraduates training to teach the subject now coming from abroad. A quarter of English state secondary schools are without a single specialist physics teacher, and more than half of physics GCSE lessons are taught by teachers with other specialisms, such as chemistry or biology, according to the Institute of Physics. In 2019-20, 12 per cent of trainee physics teachers were from overseas, but this has risen to 63 per cent this year, figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show. The Sunday Times notes that generous bursaries for trainee physics and modern languages teachers have attracted large numbers of overseas applicants, but that many individuals struggle to secure teaching jobs because visa sponsorship is costly for schools. By Louise Eccles and Dan Atherton.

Students from St Paul's Girls' School and St Paul's School have developed discreet personal safety alarms hidden inside plush toys and pom-pom keyrings after discovering that many young people avoid using traditional alarms due to stigma and appearance. Their idea, created through the Young Enterprise competition, has resulted in more than 200 units being sold across London. Speaking to The Times, Eugenia, who took on the role of chief executive, said: "During our very first meeting, we all discussed product ideas and realised that what united us was our love for making a change within the community … we wanted to have a real impact." By Georgia Lambert. 

In an article on The Parent’s Guide to Exam Stress, which sheds new light on the personal responsibility felt by parents during exam season, The Sunday Times meets head of Bristol Grammar School and vice chair of HMC Jaideep Barot, who shares how his school is supporting families around exams. "Parents are often anxious about how much revision their children should be doing, and our staff provide suggested study plans for students as well as wellbeing advice that families can use to support their children at home, which helps to relieve some parental stress," he says, before adding: "Young people often pick up on heightened anxiety in the home, and therefore prioritising self-care as a family, even practising meditation with your children, can help to create a calm environment for everyone." By Louise Eccles.