Education Media - EdCentral - Results from #280

CITB launches fast-track apprenticeship ‘hub’ grants

A construction skills quango has launched an “accelerated apprenticeships” grant programme that will fund its network of 20 training “hubs” first promised in late 2024.

No silver bullet: A social media ban alone will not be not enough

School leaders are not opposed to the government expanding age restrictions on children’s social media use, but doing so must be part of a much broader effort to boost safety.

Fracturing of society: The antidote to the age of rage

It is hard to deny that our society is fracturing and that hate and division are increasingly taking hold.

Ofsted to 'crackdown' on notifications by early years settings

Ofsted's chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has said the inspectorate is to ‘crackdown’ on notifications, looking at patterns of no or lots of notifications by early years settings.

CMA investigation to inform Government's Early Education and Childcare Review that will consider funding rates, confirms minister

Findings from the Competition Markets Authority investigation (CMA) into childcare costs will inform the Government’s Early Education and Childcare Review, which is currently underway, the minister for Early Education, Olivia Bailey, told Nursery World.

Early years support key focus of Government’s £1.8bn SEND intervention programme

Support for under-fives is a key focus of a new government programme designed to increase access to early intervention support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), new Department for Education guidance reveals.

Local authorities to pilot early years data sharing project

Councils in three areas are set to pilot new Government plans for data sharing between early education providers, health visitors and local authorities.

New value for money rules ‘disproportionate’, say universities

Proposed regulatory conditions are ‘too broad’, lack clear guidance and will increase burden on institutions, say sector groups.

Buckingham offers cut-price business courses to win back students

‘Time is right’ to lower tuition fees for some accelerated degrees, says UK’s oldest private institution.

UK sector wants to double industry spin-out investment

UK can become ‘most attractive place in the world’ to invest in innovative companies, say v-cs.

Cut university student numbers by 30 per cent, thinktank says

Five-year tuition fee freeze, ban on franchising and introduction of new national entry test among other recommendations from Policy Exchange.

Universities are the missing partners in local resilience

Local resilience forums are one of the UK’s key ways to organise emergency responses.

Being a department head has never been more complex

The head of department role is arguably where the pressures shaping higher education are most visible.

Parent complaints ‘contributing to school staff quitting’

Research comes amid a rise in the volume and complexity of complaints faced by schools, including an increase in AI-written grievances.

Ofqual ‘closely monitoring’ A-level maths paper that sparked petition

Around 23,000 people have signed a petition calling for ‘unusally difficult’ exam to be reviewed, but Pearson Edexcel says the paper was ‘rigorously checked’.

Experts at Hand guidance calls for ‘innovative’ staff deployment

DfE advice seeks to allay fears that severe shortages of staff such as educational psychologists will put the brakes on its Experts at Hand service, on same day as it reveals members of key SEND panel.

Extra in-service days promised by new Scottish education secretary

EIS teaching union sees more in-service days as crucial in helping teachers to adapt to the Curriculum Improvement Cycle.

Experts at hand SEND support should be ‘time limited’, says guidance

A scheme aimed at providing more external support for pupils with SEND in mainstream schools should see “time limited” support from experts, new government guidance has said.

New post-16 SEND inclusion cash revealed

Colleges and training providers will receive a share of £73 million next month from the first year of the government’s inclusive mainstream fund.

School based nurseries 'far more likely' than PVI providers to receive an Ofsted ‘needs attention’ grade

An investigation by National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) suggests that far more schools with early years provision are receiving ‘needs attention’ grades, than private or voluntary settings.