The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) was first announced on 6th September 2010 by the Secretary of State for Education. Further details were released through the Schools White Paper of November 2010. The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a performance measure, not a qualification, for schools in England. It was first applied in the 2010 school performa...

To kick off our new bite-size series covering education policy, we start with Sex and Relationship Education (SRE). This is a timely topic in light of a new bid to force the government to make personal, social and health education (PSHE) compulsory in schools. What is SRE? Sex and relationship education (SRE) is aimed at helping and supporting youn...

The Department for Education (DfE) says: 'children and young people's mental health is a priority for the Department and we recognise the importance of supporting parents and schools to help children use social media safely.' (17 October 2016). Information To provide information to parents (and teachers) who are concerned about mental health DfE fu...

As of January 2016, there were 236,805 pupils in Englandwith a statement of special educational needs (SEN) or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. This is an increase of 640 from 2015 – and equates to 2.8% of the total pupil population. Schools are still coming to terms with huge policy changes in this area. Following on from the Equalities A...

Teacher Katherine Birbalsingh received a standing ovation at the 2010 Conservative Party Conference, when she said: "The [education] system is broken because it keeps poor children poor." She went on to condemn a "culture of excuses, of low standards"; "the chaos of our classrooms"; and a "sea of bureaucracy". Birbalsingh has since regretted her co...