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. |
School support cuts impacting attendance, council chiefs warn
24/04/2023 Cuts in pastoral support in schools are making it harder to encourage children to return after the COVID pandemic, council leaders have told MPs. |
Council agrees to refund thousands in school transport costs
20/04/2023 Leicestershire County Council has agreed to refund a mother’s school transport costs after Ombudsman found flaws in the way it handled her application. |
New safeguarding software to transform collaboration between councils and schools
18/04/2023 Software company CPOMS has developed a first-of-its-kind solution to transform the way councils work with schools to log and manage safeguarding concerns. |
Schools report 60% increase in safeguarding referrals
18/04/2023 Schools in England saw a 59% increase in safeguarding referrals and re-referrals made to children's services between 2020-21 and 2021-22, according to survey. |
Abuse survivors take legal action against council
05/04/2023 Former pupils who were sexually and physically abused at a school in Liverpool have begun legal action against the city council that ran it. |
School buildings to receive £2.5bn investment
28/03/2023 Schools and colleges are set to receive £2.5bn in order to upgrade classrooms and refurbish buildings. |
Oxfordshire parents object to withdrawal of school bus services
28/03/2023 Parents objecting to the withdrawal of bus services to schools in rural areas have accused Oxfordshire County Council of denying their democratic rights. |
Number of ‘severely absent’ pupils up 50%
23/03/2023 The number of children absent from school for long periods has continued to rise to record levels, according to the latest figures. |
Teacher vacancies nearly double
23/03/2023 Vacancies for teachers have nearly doubled this year compared to before the COVID pandemic, according to the latest figures. |
Head teacher’s death prompts call for Ofsted inspection pause
21/03/2023 Education unions have called for Ofsted inspections to be paused following the death of a head teacher who was waiting for a report on her school. |
Cambridgeshire receives £49m to improve SEND provision
17/03/2023 Almost 600 school places for children with additional needs will be created in Cambridgeshire after an agreement between the council and Government. |
Suffolk CC warned again about poor alternative education provision
16/03/2023 The local government ombudsman has issued another warning to Suffolk County Council to improve provision for children who can’t go to school. |
Government accused of eroding local support services for children
10/03/2023 The leader of the school and college leaders’ union has accused the Government of eroding local support services for children. |
Half of homeless children forced to move schools
09/03/2023 Almost half of school age children who have become homeless have been forced to move schools as a result of living in temporary homes, charity reveals. |
New SEND plan fails on ‘fundamental’ issues, council chiefs say
02/03/2023 New plan to support children with special educational needs and disabilities fails to address ‘fundamental cost and demand issues’, council chiefs say. |
Unions warn many school buildings ‘at risk of collapse’
16/02/2023 A 50% decline in spending on school buildings over the last decade has left many of them unfit for the future, seven education unions have warned. |
Teaching unions’ rejection of pay offer ‘disappointing'
16/02/2023 Local government leaders in Scotland have described the teaching unions’ rejection of their latest pay offer as ‘very disappointing’. |
Scottish council leaders agree new teacher pay offer
15/02/2023 Council leaders in Scotland have agreed on a new pay offer for teachers which it hopes will end the current industrial action. |
Council chiefs call for joined up anti-terrorism approach
09/02/2023 A ‘broad and joined-up approach’ is needed to combat terrorism, according to the Local Government Association. |
Council brands £500,000 vandalism bill ‘disappointing’
02/02/2023 A repair bill to deal with vandalism at public buildings totalling nearly £500,000 has been branded as ‘disappointing’ by Aberdeen City Council. |
Scottish councils take legal advice over teacher cuts
30/01/2023 Scottish councils are taking legal advice on the SNP government’s threat to penalise them if they cut teacher numbers. |
Holyrood to order councils to stop teacher cuts
26/01/2023 The Scottish government is considering ordering councils to stop cutting teacher numbers after local government body COSLA expressed concerns over funding. |
Building inclusive schools
17/01/2023 School sector lead at ADP Architecture Claire Mantle looks at the role of architecture in making schools more inclusive and accessible. |
Roll-out of school mental health support teams could save £1.8bn
16/01/2023 The urgent roll-out of Mental Health Support Teams across schools in England could provide a ‘significant’ cost saving for the public sector, charity says. |
Council chiefs call for powers to close illegal schools
09/01/2023 Council leaders called for tougher powers to regulate out-of-school settings after a Government-commissioned report uncovered major safeguarding concerns. |
Teachers cooking and cleaning for students, survey reveals
19/12/2022 Cost of living crisis has driven a large proportion of teachers to cook and clean clothes for their students and to provide them with supplies, poll reveals. |
SEND pupils ‘unfairly excluded’, charity says
16/12/2022 Pupils with additional needs have said they are unfairly excluded from mainstream schools because of racism and a lack of understanding from professionals. |
Early years spending ‘seriously eroded’
12/12/2022 Spending on early years and higher education has been ‘seriously eroded’ by higher-than-expected inflation, financial experts have warned. |
Air quality campaigners warn of ‘dark stores’
08/12/2022 Air quality campaigners have called on levelling up secretary Michael Gove to tighten up regulations around last-mile delivery depots. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.