Government refuses to say whether primary school Sats will be abolished Education minister Catherine McKinnell said the final decision would be shaped by the curriculum and assessment review Evening Standard · Mar 10, 2025
Keir Starmer shares message to daughter on International Women’s Day The Prime Minister said that he does his job for her ‘and your generation’, in a post on Instagram. Evening Standard · Mar 8, 2025
Minister pledges ‘best start’ for young women on International Women’s Day International Women’s Day is marked on March 8. Evening Standard · Mar 8, 2025
Police look into claims of racism and financial misconduct at University of Greater Manchester MP for Bolton West says whistleblowers have sent allegations detailing the ‘systematic misuse of public funds’ The Guardian - UK · Mar 7, 2025
Safer phones bill aimed at young teens watered down after minister opposition New proposal calls for research instead of exclusion of under-16s from algorithms and mobile phone bans in schools The Guardian - UK · Mar 5, 2025
Four in 10 Britons think women’s equality now discriminates against men – poll Some 42% agreed with the statement, ‘We have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that we are discriminating against men’. Evening Standard · Mar 5, 2025
Education Secretary pledges to tackle ‘chronic’ skills shortages The Government has proposed to abolish the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and replace it with Skills England. Evening Standard · Feb 25, 2025
Boris Johnson urges Starmer to increase defence spending to 3% Mr Johnson was on Monday in Kyiv for the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine The Independent UK · Feb 24, 2025
Starmer and Macron agree to show ‘united leadership in support of Ukraine’ UK prime minister and French president will separately meet Donald Trump this week The Guardian - UK · Feb 23, 2025
What is Keir Starmer’s plan to increase UK defence spending and is it affordable? John Healey dramatically quit as defence secretary earlier this month, saying he had received a financial settlement which ‘falls well short of what is required’ The Independent UK · Feb 23, 2025
Starmer backs Trump’s calls for Nato allies to boost defence spending in stirring speech ahead of US visit Ahead of a meeting with the US president, Sir Keir Starmer said the UK and Europe ‘have to do more for our defence and security’ The Independent UK · Feb 23, 2025
Starmer: Talks on Ukraine must not happen without Kyiv at the table The Prime Minister said first-hand experience of visiting Ukraine had made him ‘more determined’ to ‘stand up’ for the country. The Independent UK · Feb 23, 2025
Starmer warns against Ukraine peace talks without Kyiv ahead of Trump meeting The Prime Minister said first-hand experience of visiting Ukraine had made him ‘more determined’ to ‘stand up’ for the country. Evening Standard · Feb 23, 2025
Trump was ‘right’ to approach Putin over Ukraine, UK minister insists The education secretary has defended Donald Trump’s decision to phone Vladimir Putin but said ‘there can be no settlement’ without Ukraine The Independent UK · Feb 23, 2025
The Guardian - UK · Feb 23, 2025 Starmer unlikely to unveil plan for rise in defence spending this week, says minister Bridget Phillipson calls 2.5% target ‘ambitious’ days before PM meets with Donald Trump in Washington
Evening Standard · Feb 23, 2025 Spending 2.5% of GDP on defence ‘ambitious,’ Cabinet minister says Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sought to manage expectations ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the US.
The Independent UK · Feb 23, 2025 Education Secretary says Birbalsingh’s account of meeting ‘not as it was’ Bridget Phillipson met Katharine Birbalsingh, who has been commonly described as Britain’s strictest headteacher, earlier this month.
The Guardian - UK · Feb 23, 2025 School breakfast clubs in England ‘will be used to justify keeping the two-child benefits cap’ As the education secretary announces the first primary schools to offer free breakfasts, Labour MPs question the commitment to fighting poverty
The Independent UK · Feb 18, 2025 ‘Strictest head’ warns Government ‘about to totally destroy academies’ ‘I wasn’t lecturing her,’ Katharine Birbalsingh said when asked about her meeting with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
The Guardian - UK · Feb 16, 2025 We can’t feed pupils for 60p, say schools in blow to Labour breakfast club pledge Critics warn of ‘political headlines over practical solutions’ as schools battle to cover cost of government’s flagship plan
The Independent UK · Feb 15, 2025 Voices: A cabinet reshuffle is coming: will it include Rachel Reeves? COMMENT: MPs often say that they are not interested in the tittle-tattle of who is up and who is down, but they always are. And, notes John Rentoul, the growing speculation shines a light on ministers’ performances so far
The Conversation · Feb 14, 2025 Apprenticeships aren’t designed for young people any more The number of people in England choosing to enrol in an apprenticeship has declined markedly over the past decade. Apprenticeship participation has fallen overall from 908,700 in 2016-17 to 736,500 in 2023-24.
The Guardian - UK · Feb 14, 2025 Most academy leaders in England say new bill will not affect school management Survey shows most leaders predict no impact from series of new policies in schools bill
Evening Standard · Feb 13, 2025 Bridget Phillipson ‘told high-profile headteacher to lower her tone’ in meeting The Education Secretary met with Katharine Birbalsingh – who has been commonly described as Britain’s strictest headteacher.
Evening Standard · Feb 13, 2025 OPINION - Labour's plan for our education system is simple: nobody is allowed to win In 2010 I debated Ed Balls on Newsnight about the Conservatives’ education plans. “The danger is that there will be winners in this policy,” he warned, a line later quoted by David Cameron to ridicule Labour’s attitude to his government’s education reforms.