The Latest Breaking News from DfE

Fine parents for school absence in England only as last resort, MPs urge

Commons education committee report also says mental health struggles should be accepted as valid reason for missing school

The Guardian - UK · Sep 26, 2023

MPs urge consistent approach to fines as school absence rates ‘of great concern’

The cross-party group of MPs launched an inquiry into persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils in January and has published a report.

The Independent UK · Sep 26, 2023

Unions ask Sunak for extra £4.4bn a year to fix crumbling schools in England

Eight unions and school governors’ body write to PM saying Raac crisis highlights chronic underfunding

The Guardian - UK · Sep 25, 2023

Almost 250 temporary classrooms on order to counter school concrete crisis

The Department for Education’s top official told MPs that at least 29 schools in England needed mobile classrooms.

The Independent UK · Sep 19, 2023

Raac: Crumbling concrete at four new London schools with secondary shut down

Further 27 schools in England have been named as affected by Raac on updated list published by the government

Evening Standard · Sep 19, 2023

27 more schools and colleges found to have collapse-risk concrete

A total of 174 education settings in England have been confirmed with Raac as of September 14.

The Independent UK · Sep 19, 2023

Almost 90% of voters - including 65% of Tories - say Britain needs fresh team of leaders, poll suggests – as it happened

Rishi Sunak’s government seen as less competent that Boris Johnson’s administration

The Guardian - UK · Sep 19, 2023

Inaction over Raac is slowing pupils’ return to classrooms, says Labour

Exclusive: Bridget Phillipson says the education department is leaving MPs and headteachers in the dark about what it is doing

The Guardian - UK · Sep 18, 2023

From collective ambition to crumbling concrete: Essex is a totem of Britain’s decline

Yes, many of the county’s postwar buildings used Raac; but the real problem is a Tory ideology that has negligence at its core, says author Tim Burrows

The Guardian - UK · Sep 13, 2023

School suspensions rise sharply among disadvantaged children in England

Analysis shows that since the pandemic those living in poverty were 3.7 times more likely to be sent home than other pupils

The Guardian - UK · Sep 13, 2023