Tes News

Join the Tes News team as they dive into the details behind our exclusive story on how the Department for Education is poised to launch a refresh of its recruitment and retention strategy amid a deepening teacher shortage crisis

Join the Tes News team as they discuss the story that has dominated headlines this week – and why leaders fear wider asbestos and unsafe cladding problems dogging school buildings around the country will now be neglected as funding is diverted to RAAC issues

• Unions demand Keegan answers urgent RAAC questions
•  DfE gives schools four-day deadline to return RAAC survey
• The 147 schools named by DfE as having RAAC
• The 9 RAAC schools denied rebuilding cash last year
• DfE ‘wrongly accusing’ schools of failing to return RAAC survey

Hello and welcome back to the tes news podcast.

Each episode of this podcast explores the biggest education story of the week, how that story developed, and what it means for schools, through the eyes of our expert journalists. 

All of the stories discussed can be found on our website tes.com/magazine.

Stories such as David Wright’s analysis piece on why schools must act on new filtering and monitoring standards from the government. A few months ago on this podcast, Senior editor Dan Worth and I discussed the tragic story of Frankie Thomas - who sadly took her own life after witnessing suicidal material on a school ipad. David Wright looks at this story in the context of new DfE filtering and monitoring standards - and explores why following them is so important. 

Our news team have had a lot to cover this week. Some highlights include: tes reporter John Roberts’ breakdown of the 7 ways the DfE wants to strengthen MATs or reporter Matilda Martin’s article exploring why just 3 percent of headteachers and senior leaders believe year 6 sats results are the best measure of high standards in primary schools. 

But our big story this week is teacher pay - which has of course been a big story for a while now. But has developed a lot over the course of this week. On Monday we learnt that the DfE had made an offer to education unions after intensive talks which began on the 17th March.

The offer made to all 4 teaching unions, the NEU, Nasuwt, naht and ASCL, included a one off payment of £1000 for 2022-23 and a 4.5 per cent average pay increase for next year. But unions were quick to disregard the offer - with the NEU calling on its members to reject the insulting pay offer, and NASUWT and the NAHT joined in that call for their members to reject the offer, with NAHT calling the offer inadequate.

Reporters Matilda Martin and Callum mason sat down earlier today to discuss what this could mean - including Gillian Keegan's plea to school leaders and the possibility of future strike days.

Welcome back to the tes news podcast. This week Senior content writer Grainne Hallahan is joined by reporter Matilda Martine as they discuss the future of digital assessment and why there is a shortage of invigilators.

This week's headline stories are available below:

• NEU attacks ‘new and unusual’ DfE stance on pay talks

The NEU teaching union went ahead with a two day teacher strike this week and said that 300,000 members were taking part. It also strongly criticised the DfE for meeting with the other main education unions this week but refusing to meet the NEU unless it called off the strike.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-strikes-pay-neu-distraction-politics

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-pay-strike-neu-attacks-dfe-stance-talks-gillian%20keegan

• Workload is unmanageable, say most school staff

More than two-thirds of school staff (68 per cent) think their workload is unmanageable, according to an annual survey conducted by Tes.

The findings were revealed this week in the Tes Schools Wellbeing Report survey of 5,858 UK-based school staff.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-workload-unmanageable-say-most-school-staff

• Oak National Academy: Ofsted to advise subject groups

Ofsted subject lead inspectors will work as advisers on Oak National Academy’s expert groups, it has been announced today. But Oak has said the Ofsted advisers will not have a formal role in defining or recommending its curriculum.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/oak-national-academy-ofsted-advise-subject-groups

• DfE seeks ‘outstanding’ leader to be next Ofsted chief

On the subject of Ofsted, the government has formally launched the search for the next chief inspector to replace Amanda Spielman. A job advert for the next HMCI has been published revealing a drop in salary from the £189k paid to Ms Spielman to £165,000 for her successor

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/dfe-replace-amanda-spielman-ofsted-chief

• Budget 2023: All primaries to provide ‘wraparound’ care

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out an “ambition” that the parents of all primary-age children will be provided with “wraparound” childcare in school by September 2026.

The Treasury told Tes that funding to local authorities and schools would taper off by 2026  when it expects most schools will be able to deliver the provision self-sufficiently, funded by charging parents.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/budget-2023-all-primaries-provide-wraparound-care

Welcome back to the Tes News Podcast.

In today's episode Charlotte Santry and Callume Mason explore what the 2023 Budget means for schools.

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out an “ambition” that the parents of all primary-age children will be provided with “wraparound” childcare in school by September 2026.

The Treasury told Tes that funding to local authorities and schools would taper off by 2026 when it expects most schools will be able to deliver the provision self-sufficiently, funded by charging parents.

Also mentioned on todays podcast:

• NEU attacks ‘new and unusual’ DfE stance on pay talks

The NEU teaching union went ahead with a two day teacher strike this week and said that 300,000 members were taking part. It also strongly criticised the DfE for meeting with the other main education unions this week but refusing to meet the NEU unless it called off the strike.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-strikes-pay-neu-distraction-politics

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-pay-strike-neu-attacks-dfe-stance-talks-gillian%20keegan

•  Workload is unmanageable, say most school staff

More than two-thirds of school staff (68 per cent) think their workload is unmanageable, according to an annual survey conducted by Tes.

The findings were revealed this week in the Tes Schools Wellbeing Report survey of 5,858 UK-based school staff.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-workload-unmanageable-say-most-school-staff

• Oak National Academy: Ofsted to advise subject groups

Ofsted subject lead inspectors will work as advisers on Oak National Academy’s expert groups, it has been announced today. But Oak has said the Ofsted advisers will not have a formal role in defining or recommending its curriculum.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/oak-national-academy-ofsted-advise-subject-groups

• DfE seeks ‘outstanding’ leader to be next Ofsted chief

On the subject of Ofsted, the government has formally launched the search for the next chief inspector to replace Amanda Spielman. A job advert for the next HMCI has been published revealing a drop in salary from the £189k paid to Ms Spielman to £165,000 for her successor

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/dfe-replace-amanda-spielman-ofsted-chief

Hello and welcome back to the Tes News Podcast.

This week is an analysis special as Grainne Hallahan joins us to go through some of the big stories from our analysis desk this week.

First we cover her interview with Sir Peter Lampl, the founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation.

Then we explore how we can make assessment more inclusive through adaptive testing.

And finally, we take a look at why Ofsted are cracking down on part-time timetables.

• Primary testing and SEND: the ghost pupils in our system
• 10 questions with... Sir Peter Lampl
• Don’t reduce timetables to manage behaviour, schools told

Hello and welcome back to the Tes News Podcast.

On this week's episode reporters Matilda Martin and Callum Mason discuss the first of the NEU’s seven planned strike days earlier this week. What happened on the day, how schools were affected and what might happen next.

And Dan Worth covers how one school luckily avoided the worst of a cyberattack, and how they fought back so that it won't happen again.

Stories discussed on today's episode are available on tes.com/magazine:

• Teacher strikes: ‘It’s a joke to say we’re letting pupils down’
• How our school fought back after a cyberattack
• Teacher strikes: what will happen next?
• How schools dealt with teacher strikes

Hello and welcome back to the Tes news podcast.

First up on this episode, reporter Matilda Martin covers new developments on teacher strike action.

Then, in the second half of the podcast, Grainne Hallahan is back to discuss what can be done about persistent school absence.

Stories from today's episode are available in full at tes.com/magazine:

• DfE to miss teacher pay review deadline
• Teacher pay: Heads call for 15% ‘uplift’ in ‘last chance’ review
• DfE school strike data trawl can be ignored, heads told
• Strikes: Heads warn over ‘hardline’ DfE approach
• Walker: ‘Worrying’ rise in school absence must be solved

Hello and welcome back to the Tes News Podcast.

The big story this week is a continuation of last week - it is of course teacher strikes. Joining Joshua Morris first today is Grainne Hallahan, to give us a breakdown of things as they stand. And a little bit later we're joined by Matilda Martin to give us the reaction from school leaders and go over what advice is out there to help prepare for these strikes. And finally John Roberts explores what Ofsted can do to begin to restore schools’ trust.

The stories dicussed in today's episode are, as always, available in full at tes.com/magazine:

• Teacher strikes Q&A: everything you need to know
• School leaders prepare for ‘lockdown 2.0’ as strikes loom
• Next Ofsted chief ‘must restore schools’ trust’
• Call for Ofsted school grades to be axed ‘immediately’
• Teacher strikes: How heads should handle walkouts

Happy new year and welcome back to the tes news podcast!

On this week's episode we discuss possible industrial action of teacher pay, with an eye on various union member ballot results as they begin to roll in.

And we take a look at what schools can do to mitigate asbestos related health risks, when the data shows that teachers are at a higher risk than many other professions.

Links to the articles discussed are available below:

• Urgent need to address asbestos-related cancer risk for school staff
• Nearly 7 in 10 ASCL members want strike vote
• Ministers warned time is running out to avert teacher strike threat
• Headteachers won’t accept ‘bullies’ charter’ strike law, ministers warned
• NASUWT fails to hit threshold for strike action
• Teacher strike vote challenged over missing ballots
• Revealed: How Ofsted reports show shifting focus for schools
• 2022 had fewest ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted grades