Schools | LocalGov

Landmark report finds SEND system ‘broken’

25/07/2024

Major reforms introduced a decade ago have failed to improve educational outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), a report has found.

Council helps investigate after two children from same school die

11/07/2024

Liverpool City Council is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) after two children from the same school died.

Improving air quality in and around schools

08/07/2024

Megan Bennett, product marketing manager at Nuaire, looks at how poor air quality impacts children at school and what steps can be taken to improve it.

Council pays family £1,500 after school transport failure

04/07/2024

A family in Surrey has been paid £1,500 in compensation after the county council failed to provide school transport for a child with medical needs.

Leeds council proposes SEND transport overhaul

02/07/2024

Leeds City Council has proposed reducing transport support for post-16 learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Middlesbrough to trial auto-enrolment for free school meals

28/06/2024

Eligible children in Middlesbrough will be automatically signed up to receive free school meals from September.

School staff strike over new pay structure

27/06/2024

Teaching assistants at a school in East Yorkshire have walked out amid a dispute with the council over pay and conditions.

Call for urgent action on childhood obesity

18/06/2024

‘Urgent and decisive’ action is needed to combat rising levels of childhood obesity, a public health director has argued.

Councils looking after record 576k children with SEND

13/06/2024

Local authorities are looking after record numbers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), council chiefs warn.

Hull rolls out tool to tackle school absence

24/05/2024

Hull City Council is providing schools with an early intervention tool aimed to boosting pupil attendance.

Safeguarding panel calls for register of home-educated children

15/05/2024

An expert child safeguarding panel has joined calls for a statutory register of children who are electively home educated.

Government criticised over free school meals threshold freeze

14/05/2024

The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Government for failing to increase the income threshold for free school meals in line with inflation.

Government announces 16 new special free schools

09/05/2024

New schools for 2,000 children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are to open in 16 areas across England.

£101m boost for new music hubs

08/05/2024

A ‘new generation’ of music hubs will receive £101m to provide music education to young people across England.

Schools in disrepair due to funding ‘failure’, union warns

29/04/2024

More than four-fifths of headteachers (83%) have said they do not have enough money to maintain their school buildings.

Two-fifths of children face barriers to education

26/04/2024

Millions of pupils are struggling to learn because of unstable family environments, mental health challenges and poor attendance, a major children’s charity has warned.

Council rejects MP’s ‘inaccurate’ funding claim

26/04/2024

Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins has accused Derbyshire County Council of leaving unspent millions of pounds for school spaces for children with special needs.

One-word Ofsted judgements to be retained

25/04/2024

The controversial one-word Ofsted judgements for schools are here to stay despite criticism after the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry.

Brum council workers vote for strike over equal pay

23/04/2024

Council workers at 35 schools across Birmingham have voted in support of strike action over the ongoing equal pay claims issue.

Teacher vacancies rise in almost nine in 10 local authorities

19/04/2024

Teacher vacancies have increased in 86% of English local authority areas since 2010, according to analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Increasing number of Coventry children not in school

17/04/2024

A growing number of children in Coventry are not going to primary school due to their parents' reluctance to accept places that have been offered.

Academy trusts have higher staff turnover than council schools

16/04/2024

Multi-academy trusts (MATs) have ‘higher’ annual turnover of classroom teachers at secondary level than council-maintained schools, according to a new study.

Toolkit to support gender-questioning children 'unlawful'

15/04/2024

A ‘toolkit’ used by many schools to support gender-questioning children is unlawful, according to a leading equality and human rights barrister.

Schools face losing over £1bn, think tank warns

11/04/2024

A decline in the number of school-age children could lead to schools losing over £1bn in funding by 2030, education experts warn.

Essex council agrees to rethink alternative education changes

04/04/2024

Essex CC agrees to investigate why changes to its alternative education provision for children who are unable to attend school have not improved the service.

Union criticises Government’s ‘shameful’ SEND support

04/04/2024

Teachers and support staff are ‘losing faith’ in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system due to inadequate resources, a union has warned.

Spending on SEND school transport doubles to £1.4bn

27/03/2024

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school transport system is threatening 'the financial viability of councils’, council leaders warn.

Council criticised after teacher harassed for Muhammad cartoon

25/03/2024

Kirklees Council demonstrated a ‘lack of consideration’ towards a teacher who faced harassment for showing a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad, advisor says.

Bristol SEND services get £54m bailout

25/03/2024

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services in Bristol are to receive a nearly £54m bailout, the Government has confirmed.

Brum workers vote for ‘major escalation’ of equal pay dispute

05/03/2024

Workers at Birmingham City Council have voted to strike in what the union GMB describes as a ‘major escalation’ in the campaign to end the equal pay crisis.

Absence fines without tackling causes 'will not work'

29/02/2024

Plans to boost school attendance do not address the wider factors that contribute to persistent absence, a think-tank and council bosses have warned.

Over 10,000 children missing from education system

22/02/2024

Local authorities in England have no idea what has happened to over 10,000 children who have left state education.

Sharp increase in home schooling, survey shows

16/02/2024

A survey of councils in the south of England shows a sharp rise in the number of children being educated at home.

Sheffield to invest £1m CAZ funds to improve air quality

15/02/2024

An estimated £1m raised through Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will be used to improve air quality near schools, the city council says.

Nearly 120 RAAC-affected school buildings to be rebuilt

09/02/2024

Nearly 120 school buildings containing dangerous concrete will be rebuilt or refurbished, the Government has confirmed.

School leaders call for Ofsted exemption due to RAAC

07/02/2024

School leaders have called for all schools impacted by the dangerous concrete scandal to be exempt from Ofsted inspections until they are ‘fully operational’.

Divided education system ‘unsustainable’, think tank warns

30/01/2024

An education system divided between academies and council-maintained schools has become ‘undesirable and unsustainable’, according to an education think tank.

Schools face ‘impossible choices’ as demand drops

29/01/2024

Falling demand for school places across London will have major implications for the future of education provision in the capital, a new report says.

North Northants fined £1,500 after girl misses school

26/01/2024

The leader of North Northamptonshire Council has apologised to the family of a girl who missed part of her education because of her health.

Pupils leaving RAAC schools, heads warn

25/01/2024

Students are increasingly being taken out of schools that are affected by a crumbly form of concrete, headteachers have warned.

Council concerned about Dyson’s £6m school donation

23/01/2024

Wiltshire Council has raised concerns about the impact of a £6m donation to a local school by billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson.

Schools blunder to cost council £60m

18/01/2024

A report has found that Renfrewshire Council, whose ‘gross incompetence’ left a community short of hundreds of school places, has again failed to be transparent with residents on school provision.

BCP warns of S114 risk over schools funding

15/01/2024

A growing deficit on its dedicated schools grant (DSG) could force Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council to issue a section 114 notice this year.

New £1.5m package to support school leaders launched

15/01/2024

The Government has announced a new £1.5m package to help support the mental health and wellbeing of school and college leaders.

Labour outlines plans to boost attendance

09/01/2024

Local authorities would be required to keep a register of all children not in school under a Labour government, the shadow education secretary announced today.

Half of teachers work with homeless children

22/12/2023

The ‘nightmare of child homelessness’ is damaging children’s education as they suffer exhaustion, hunger and poor mental health, Shelter has warned.

Unions call for school inspections to be suspended

21/12/2023

School inspections must be suspended until Ofsted implements recommendations to reform the system following the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, unions say.

Plan for schools needs local government ‘at its heart’

29/11/2023

England’s children’s services chiefs have set out a future vision to fix an ‘incoherent and fragmented’ education system.

School support staff paying for pupils’ essentials

24/11/2023

The cost-of-living crisis is forcing school support staff to use their own money to help pay for pupils’ food and clothing, union reveals.

MPs slam ‘beyond unacceptable’ condition of schools

20/11/2023

Thousands of children are learning in potentially unsafe buildings, with MPs ‘extremely concerned’ about the Department for Education’s understanding of the risks, a new report says.

Councils call for emergency school transport funding

20/11/2023

‘Spiralling’ transport costs for children with special educational needs are threatening the financial stability of England’s largest councils, according to a report.

School staff strike amid pay dispute

01/11/2023

Schools in parts of Scotland were closed on Wednesday as non-teaching staff went on strike in an ongoing dispute over local government pay.

One in 20 children sleeping on the floor, survey finds

29/09/2023

More than a million British children may be sleeping on the floor or having to share beds, a children’s charity has found.

MPs call for SEND support to tackle school absences

27/09/2023

MPs have called for more support for pupils with special educational needs (SEND) to tackle school absences and a consistent approach to the issuing of fines.

Unions call for £4bn investment in school estate

26/09/2023

In response to the RAAC crisis, trade unions have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to invest £4.4bn per year to improve the school estate.

Nottingham to boost SEND provision

25/09/2023

Nottingham is set to bolster school capacity for children with additional needs as the city sees an increasing number of pupils requiring support.

Concern over Bristol schools’ app use to monitor children

22/09/2023

Campaign groups have accused Bristol schools who use an app to monitor pupils and their families of ‘intrusive monitoring’.

Government urged to share RAAC school list

19/09/2023

Council leaders have urged the Government to share the list of schools who have yet to respond to surveys about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Councils ‘sitting on’ £3bn from developer contributions

13/09/2023

Councils in England and Wales are reportedly 'sitting on' £3bn allocated for new community infrastructure.

‘Urgent’ RAAC inspections of Oxford council-owned buildings

12/09/2023

Authority-owned buildings in Oxford may contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and will be inspected ‘as a matter of urgency’, the city council has said.

RAAC: what housing associations need to know about the concrete crisis

07/09/2023

Jon Coane, social housing expert at Shakespeare Martineau, looks at how the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) scandal is affecting social housing.

Ministers fear public building disruption after school closures

07/09/2023

Some ministers fear disruption and huge costs if public buildings with RAAC are held to the standards the Department for Education set by closing schools.

Suffolk’s essential service funding ‘not sustainable’

06/09/2023

Suffolk County Council has forecast it will spend £22.3m over its budget this year, with the costs of school transport and looking after children in care making up two thirds of the overspend.

Why we should be concerned with the SEN2 survey

05/09/2023

Gareth Copeland, education consultant, OLM Systems, looks at the SEN2 survey and argues there is a disconnect with what really counts.

Surge in upheld SEND complaints

04/09/2023

A growing number of complaints involving special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision and education, health and care (EHC) plans are being upheld by the local government ombudsman.

More than 100 schools told to shut buildings over safety concerns

01/09/2023

Days before the start of term, the Government has told 104 English schools to close buildings known to contain a weak form of ‘concrete’.

Council to compensate family over missed schooling

24/08/2023

Leeds City Council has been ordered to pay £1,500 to a mother whose child could not attend school for 18 months because of delays to an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

Three schools closed over safety concerns

24/08/2023

Three schools in England built by the same contractors have been advised not to reopen their buildings ahead of the new school year because of ‘structural irregularities’.

New ‘Brit School for the north’ gets go-ahead

21/08/2023

The Government has approved plans for a new Brit School in Bradford, based on the renowned creative college in south London.

School staff at 10 Scottish councils to strike

18/08/2023

Local authority employees in schools and early years provisions across Scotland will strike for two days next month, GMB Scotland has announced.

Virtual school service risks becoming ‘victim of own success’

15/08/2023

County council leaders have praised virtual schools as ‘education’s hidden asset’ but called on the Government to provide them with additional resources.

20,000 vulnerable children taught in unregistered settings

07/08/2023

Tens of thousands of children are being taught in unregistered settings, some of which do not meet safeguarding standards and one which had a firearm on site.

LGA: council-maintained schools outperforming academies

03/08/2023

Schools that are still maintained by local authorities receive better Ofsted outcomes than schools that have become academies, according to new research.

Third of children in care face exclusion

27/07/2023

Pupils who have a history of receiving social care or support from special educational needs services are much more likely to be excluded, UCL study reveals.

London boroughs call for more powers to oversee in-year school admissions

19/07/2023

Pupils who change schools during term-time run the risk of missing out on education because of a complex in-year admissions system, London boroughs warn.

Third of parents say school travel affected by cuts

12/07/2023

Almost a third of parents say that their child’s school travel has been affected by funding cuts, new research has revealed.

Council chiefs call for funding pot to fix schools

28/06/2023

Council chiefs have called for a single funding pot to pay for upkeep of school buildings after auditors warned 700,000 pupils are in dilapidated schools.

Kent County Council closes four schools following concerns over concrete

20/06/2023

Kent County Council has temporarily closed four schools in following safety concerns over concrete used in their construction.

Scrap proposed infrastructure levy, council chiefs say

16/06/2023

Council leaders, developers, and others have written to levelling up secretary Michael Gove criticising the Government’s proposed infrastructure levy.

Haringey to treble number of School Streets

16/06/2023

Haringey councillors have signed off on a plan that will almost treble the number of School Streets in the borough to 61.

Ombudsman criticises council’s school transport policy

15/06/2023

Stockton-on-Tees Council has pledged to improve its education transport policy for young adults after being taken to task in an Ombudsman investigation.

Charity calls for more 20mph near schools

14/06/2023

A road safety charity has called on local authorities to implement 20mph speed limits around all schools.

Water shortages in East Sussex force school closures

14/06/2023

Water shortages caused by the hot weather have forced two schools in East Sussex to close.

Planning Inspectorate rejects pizza shop appeal

12/06/2023

The Planning Inspectorate has rejected a plan for a pizza shop in Newcastle because of fears over obesity.

Ofsted announces shakeup after suicide

12/06/2023

The system for inspecting schools in England is facing a shakeup after the suicide of head teacher Ruth Perry led to calls for reform.

‘Wild West’ vaping market affecting schools

09/06/2023

The Children’s Commissioner has called for urgent action over the 'Wild West market' of selling vapes to under-18s.

MPs warn of 'lost decade' for disadvantaged pupils

07/06/2023

The educational gap between disadvantaged pupils and others could take a decade to return to pre-pandemic levels, MPs warn.

Lambeth fined £6,500 after failing to fix leaky roof

06/06/2023

Lambeth Council has been ordered to pay £6,500 in compensation after it left a family in a damp and mouldy house with a leaky roof for six years.

Sheffield unveils ‘autism-friendly’ plans

01/06/2023

Sheffield Council has unveiled plans to make the city more ‘autism-friendly’.

Hundreds of children in care missing school

25/05/2023

Hundreds of children in care are missing school and not receiving any kind of education, according to new research.

Majority support restrictions on fast food advertising

23/05/2023

Three-quarters of adults would like their local council to be able to restrict unhealthy food and drink advertising near schools and playgrounds, poll finds.

Council investigation reveals mother’s forgery

23/05/2023

A mother in Barnet has admitted in court to forging official documents to get her son into a popular secondary school.

Union calls for information on state of school buildings

23/05/2023

Local government union Unison has backed a Labour demand that information on the state of school buildings must be published.

Over £450m to improve school estate announced

22/05/2023

School buildings across the country are set to receive a share of over £450m of funding to help improve their condition.

Register needed to tackle school absences, council chiefs say

18/05/2023

Council leaders are calling on the Government to set up a register of children who are persistently absent from school, and to give them more powers.

Embracing the local library

17/05/2023

Libraries play an important role in communities. Isobel Hunter, chief executive, Libraries Connected, argues that councils should promote their benefits more.

MP calls for home schooled children to be registered

16/05/2023

Parliament is facing a call for a new law saying councils must log information on home-schooled children in their areas.

Poor quality housing barrier to school attendance

15/05/2023

A rising number of children are absent from school because of the poor quality housing they live in, according to an educational charity.

School cuts cost pupils £5,000 each

04/05/2023

Cuts to school funding over the last decade and a half have cost pupils £5,000 each in lost education, new research reveals.

COVID revealed extent of school nurse shortage

03/05/2023

The COVID pandemic revealed that more school nurses are needed to carry out vital child protection work, researchers say.

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