Smith: OfS ‘shouldn’t back off’ from free speech issues
Skills minister says regulator could have handled Sussex investigation better but ‘lessons have been identified’.
Bloomsbury Institute suspended from recruiting overseas students
Private provider temporarily blocked from international recruitment amid UKVI probe as seven universities face visa action plans.
Meningitis B vaccine offered to all freshers after Kent outbreak
Under-25s across the UK to be offered two-dose vaccination from July onwards.
Russell Group warned over ‘divisive’ support for entry thresholds
New leader of research-intensive grouping says ‘challenging conversations’ needed but critics urge united front against political attacks.
What changes in regulatory culture might follow from the University of Sussex’s High Court victory over OfS?
The recent High Court ruling on free speech has larger implications for how the sector in England is regulated.
UK school leavers and new students to be offered meningitis B vaccine
Teenagers in their final school year and young people starting university will be offered two doses of a vaccine to protect them against meningitis B, the government has announced.
Record number of young people fear long-term unemployment
Young people in England are increasingly “losing faith in their futures” according to a report, as record numbers fear long-term unemployment.
Facing a downhill march for bootcamp funding
Funding for devolved areas to run skills bootcamps has been cut by more than half this financial year, data suggests.
Former DfE civil servant appointed DWP permanent secretary
Dame Sarah Healey has been named as the Department for Work and Pensions’ next permanent secretary.
Insider wins promotion to lead FE college group
A deputy principal will step up to replace chief executive Craig Hodgson when he retires from Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG).
Simon Bartley: a champion of skills and young people
Tributes from across the world have been paid to Simon Bartley, the former chief executive of UK Skills and president of WorldSkills International, who died last month aged 68.
£2.5m fund to study how AI tools are affecting learning
The government’s go-to education research body has opened a £2.5 million research fund to fill an “urgent evidence gap” on how tools like ChatGPT have impacted the way pupils learn.
Grammar schools are inclusive, says Ofsted
Ofsted has branded every grammar school inspected so far under its new framework as inclusive, prompting a backlash from social mobility campaigners.
Cleaners consider strike as Ark cancels wage agreement
One of England’s most influential academy trusts has stopped offering the real living wage to staff this year, blaming stretched budgets and falling rolls.
Natural history GCSE to teach teenagers to plant wildflower-friendly gardens
School pupils will learn how to plant a wildflower-friendly garden, according to long-awaited plans announced on Thursday for a natural history GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Private school founded in 1889 closes with an hour’s notice
A 137-year-old private school has shut just days after its head teacher claimed it had been saved from closure.
Teachers in Wales face delayed pay rises as new Welsh Government clashes with heads
The new Plaid Cymru Welsh Government has clashed with head teachers over pay within weeks of taking office.
Record number of children in UK have special educational needs, new data shows
A record 1.8 million children in the UK have special educational needs (SEN), an increase of 91,400 (5%) on the previous year.
Schools in Northern Ireland praised for being ‘bedrocks of safety’ for pupils amid disorder
Schools in Northern Ireland have been praised for keeping children safe and helping them continue to learn amid the disorder prompted by a knife attack in Belfast.
Surge in universities accepting students without qualifications
One in 12 UK-based undergraduates is starting a full-time degree without any formal qualifications, an analysis of data shows.