ISC Daily News Summary

Peter Hyman, former adviser to Tony Blair and a free school founder, has called for a 'human-maxxing' revolution to prevent children from outsourcing critical faculties. His comments come after Sir Anthony Seldon criticised the Department for Education for not embracing artificial intelligence (AI), saying the UK's education system is trying to teach for an "AI-less world that no longer exists". In a lecture at the Royal Society of Arts, Mr Hyman said: "We cannot expect young people to be match fit for the future if we neglect the foundations of their wellbeing. Human-maxxing means giving them the support, experiences and tools to get into the right habits so they can shape their own lives." Echoing concerns around the future of AI, head of digital strategy at Wellington College Education Alice Gisborne is also quoted in The Times, saying pupils need to be taught AI literacy before the age of 13 so they learn to be ethical "users" rather than passive consumers of technology. By Nicola Woolcock and Georgia Lambert. 

In an exclusive interview with Tes, Helen Hayes, chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, said schools "urgently need" an AI framework. "What impact is AI having in our education system? What are the opportunities to be grasped through it? But also what are the risks, and how does our education system need to be recalibrated?" she asked, before adding: "I don't think the government has got that framework in place yet." By Cerys Turner. 

The Times View comments on the report co-authored by Sir Anthony Seldon and Tim Bunting warning that schools face a "crisis of relevance" if they do not adapt to the rise of AI. The paper urges the government to listen to the report's authors, arguing that "AI threatens to make traditional education seem pointless" and risks discouraging learning.

Ministers' plans for devolved education should have funding set for 10-year periods to ensure the most significant impact, an evaluation of the Conservatives' opportunity areas programme by the University of Bath, University of Bristol and Durham University has found. The evaluation of the programme, a £108 million intervention that ran from 2017 to 2022 and sought to close regional gaps in education and skills, comes as prime minister Andy Burnham plans to "rewire the state" and give regional mayors control over local education pathways. By Ruth Lucas, Schools Week.

Nearly half of academy trust leaders expect to reduce teacher staffing amid continuing financial pressures, according to a survey by the Confederation of School Trusts (CST). The polling with survey platform Edurio found that 49 per cent of chief executives planned to reduce teacher full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing to offset financial pressures in 2026-27, while 52 per cent planned to cut teaching assistant FTE staffing. More than three-quarters were considering additional special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) training for staff ahead of Labour's flagship reforms, although 37 per cent of CEOs said they had struggled to fill SEND specialist vacancies in the past academic year. By Jabed Ahmed, Tes.

Children as young as 13 are taking ketamine for fun, data suggests, with girls most likely to seek help for associated health problems. Young people referred to a specialist clinic for ketamine-related bladder conditions at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool had an average age of 14, while deaths involving the drug rose from 15 in 2014 to 197 in 2024. Commenting on the figures, Harriet Corbett, a consultant ­paediatric urologist at the trust, said the damage caused by ketamine "can be devastating", but stressed it was avoidable. "Understanding more about the young people who are presenting to us is an important step towards ­preventing further harm," she explained. By Poppy Koronka, The Times. 

In an article for Tes, education reporter Holly Korbey explores whether homework should be reconsidered in this age of teacher overwork, chronic absenteeism and changing family dynamics. She hears from a number of experts who offer their perspectives on the issue, including Joyce Epstein, a school and family partnerships specialist in the US, who says the key message guiding a school's approach should be: "Don't just set homework for homework's sake."