Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

The Latest Breaking News from Department for Education

Experts explain how UK schools must adapt to heatwaves

Summer 2026 saw unprecedented heatwaves hit the UK, setting it up to be the hottest on record. Ahead of the new academic year, experts share what needs to change

The Independent UK

Does my child qualify for free school meals? What to know as around 500,000 more pupils eligible

The Child Poverty Action Group has urged the Government to do more to let families know of the policy change

The Independent UK

Department for Education hacked as teachers’ personal details leaked on dark web

IN FULL

The Independent UK

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Teachers’ names and phone numbers leaked on dark web after Department for Education hacked

Around 607,000 records were reportedly stolen in the attack, including full names, job titles and email addresses

The Independent UK

More than 300,000 pupils estimated absent after England World Cup win

Exclusive: Initial figures are yet to be confirmed by DfE, which said schools were ‘at the heart’ of the celebration

The Guardian - UK

UK parents urged to curb fast-paced screen content for small children – neuroscientist who advised government explains why

The UK Department for Education has just released guidance for parents on early years screen use, which I advised on as an expert. It includes recommended limits on the time children spend on screens. It also advises avoiding fast-paced content for younger children.

The Conversation

PM says special educational needs ‘raised with me more than any other issue’

Sir Keir Starmer made his comments during a visit to a school breakfast club in Reading.

Evening Standard

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Why so many children in the youth justice system have special educational needs

Walk into any custodial youth justice facility in the UK – from young offender’s institutions to secure training centres and children’s homes – and you’ll be met with an unexpected reality: the majority of children in these settings have special educational needs and disabilities.

The Conversation

England’s new phonics target sets schools an almost impossible task

The target for the proportion of children passing the phonics screening check – a test of how well children aged five and six in England can “decode” words – has been raised to 90%.

The Conversation

Children missing more than half of classes increases as overall absence falls

The Department for Education said it is ‘slowing the stubborn rise in severe absence’.

Evening Standard

Liverpool headteachers warn Chancellor their schools are at breaking point

Heads have signed an open letter to Rachel Reeves calling on Labour to ‘restore the achievements of the last Labour government’ as conference starts

Evening Standard

More than 700,000 GCSE students without specialist physics teachers as government urged to address shortage

The Institute of Physics (IOP) has called for urgent action to tackle the shortage in physics teachers

The Independent UK

Why where you live can affect your school grades – and the gap between areas is only widening

Educational inequalities in England have ‘grown wider and more pronounced’ since the Covid pandemic

The Independent UK

Disadvantaged white pupils have ‘particularly poor’ education outcomes – report

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it was a ‘disgrace’ that so many white, working-class children are being written off at school.

The Independent UK

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

The Independent UK

Disadvantaged white pupils have ‘particularly poor’ education outcomes, review says

The Education Secretary said it was a “national disgrace” that so many white working-class children are being “written off”

The Independent UK

Parents occupy community centre with buggy blockade in protest over cost of childcare

Families and youth workers occupy recently closed centre run by Living Under One Sun in Tottenham in protest over lack of affordable childcare and school holiday support

The Independent UK

‘Unclear’ how Labour’s pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers will address shortages

The Department for Education ‘lacks a coherent plan’, suitable targets and sufficient evidence of what works to improve teachers shortages, MPs say.

Evening Standard

Government told to set out plan to tackle ‘significant challenges’ with T-levels

The Department for Education should enter ‘campaign mode’ to ensure more students enrol in the technical qualifications, MPs say.

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

Evening Standard

Private school pupil numbers in England fall after VAT on fees

There were around 11,000 fewer pupils in independent schools in January compared with the same point last year, Government figures show.

The Independent UK

Full extent of private school ‘exodus’ revealed after VAT on fees

There were around 11,000 fewer pupils in independent schools in January compared with the same point last year, Government figures show.

The Independent UK

Children with special educational needs at risk of losing school support

Thousands of pupils could be forced out of mainstream education if the government scraps education, health and care plans (EHCPs), campaigners say

The Independent UK

Toddler accused of being transphobic or homophobic was suspended from nursery

Data from the Department for Education reveals the child was suspended for ‘abuse against sexual orientation and gender identity’

The Guardian - UK

Record 170,000 children in England missed at least half of classes in 2024

Department for Education data shows that 2.3% of pupils were ‘severely absent’, up from 2.0% in 2022-23

The Independent UK

Record number of pupils in England ‘severely absent’ from school – figures

More than 171,000 pupils missed at least half of possible school sessions in 2023/24, Department for Education statistics show.

The Independent UK

Poorer pupils ‘may not be benefiting’ from funding given to schools to aid them

The Department for Education has ‘limited understanding’ of how schools are spending £9.2 billion of disadvantage-related funding, a report has said.

1 2 3 4 5

People

Geoffrey CliftonBrown

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

Department for Education

259 stories

NAHT

254 stories

the National Crime Agency

211 stories

the Department for Education

209 stories

EPI

94 stories

the Public Accounts Committee

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Topics

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.