The Education Brief: Wednesday 22 October 2025 - Top stories include:

• Grammar schools surged to the top of this year’s GCSE league tables with schools now ranked by Attainment 8.

• In Parliament on Monday, the education secretary and her team answered MPs' questions.

• A new report warns “hundreds of millions of pounds” are being wasted on teacher development.

• The CST has called for Ofsted’s upcoming multi-academy trust inspections to be ungraded.

• Artificial intelligence could soon help analyse lessons by new teachers under a pilot programme.

Deep Dive: Post-16 education and skills white paper

Round Up for Schools:

• Secondary accountability measures (including Progress 8 and Attainment 8)

• Focus on reading in secondary years to drive up standards

• Key stage 4 performance 2025

• Destinations of key stage 4 and 5 students: 2024

• STA Assessment Update

• Parents supported to navigate early years misinformation online

• Buy musical instruments, equipment and technology

• Estimating pupil numbers: how to complete your return for 2026 to 2027

HEP Updates:

• ⁠HEP Inclusion & SEND Conference 2026: Neurodiversity in the classroom

Watching - https://events.hyve.group/today-is-world-mental-health-day-1

Listening - ⁠https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002k4ln

Reading - https://jmarriott.substack.com/p/the-dawn-of-the-post-literate-society-aa1?r=1x9c3z

AI Tool - https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/a-personal-assistant-for-your-inbox

⁠Music by Slo Pony⁠