The Week in Education (3–10 Feb 2026): what STEM teachers might want to notice

A conversational long-read pulling together education headlines (and a few wider stories) from Schools Week, FE Week, Tes, Sky News and the EEF. 

1) Reading, curriculum access, and the “what do we put in front of pupils?” question

A noticeable thread this week is “access” — not just whether pupils can decode text, but whether the stuff we ask them to read feels worth reading. Sky reported on a campaign to get children “back into books”, with an emphasis on ensuring reading materials reflect contemporary Britain and pupils’ lived experience. That’s not a STEM headline on the surface, but it’s absolutely a STEM classroom issue: if pupils are reading less (or reading narrower kinds of texts), they will struggle more with scientific vocabulary, extended responses, data interpretation, and the written demands of exams and coursework.

If you’re looking for a practical “Monday morning” action, the EEF quietly delivered one: an updated explainer/organiser for evidence-informed reading instruction — the “Reading House”. Even if you teach physics or computing, this is useful because it helps departments align on what “good reading support” actually looks like, rather than leaving literacy as everybody’s job and nobody’s system.

And yes — children’s books themselves made headlines too, with Sky revealing details of a new Julia Donaldson title (including a new character). It’s not “education policy”, but it is a reminder that cultural moments can be leveraged: primary colleagues can ride that wave into storytelling, classification, habitats, materials, and “science hidden in stories” tasks.

2) SEND finances: the system-level decisions that land in your lab

SEND is the dominant system story this week — and it’s one of those areas where the “big numbers” quickly become “small classroom realities”. Schools Week reported that government has pledged to write off 90% of councils’ historic SEND deficits (estimated at around £5bn). At the same time, Schools Week revealed central government pushing councils to start local reform activity ahead of a white paper — essentially: don’t wait.

Tes added another angle: a report that around a third of areas are cutting core school funding to prop up SEND provision. Again, this isn’t abstract for STEM teams — it shows up as squeezed technician hours, slower replenishment cycles, reduced practical consumables, and less capacity to run intervention in maths and science.

A smaller but telling Schools Week story: a recruitment agency was criticised for offering “free” outsourced EHCP applications if schools hire its staff. It’s a sharp reminder of what happens when statutory processes meet capacity pressure — and why schools need clear, ethical procurement lines when seeking SEND support.

3) Accountability, governance and the “pressure system” around schools

A lot of what STEM teachers feel day-to-day is the indirect effect of governance decisions, inspection expectations and the practical friction of “doing school”. Schools Week reported that Ofsted will monitor inspection impact on headteacher wellbeing more closely, including an independent advisory group. Tes also ran coverage about workload concerns emerging from new Ofsted inspections.

Two financial governance stories from Schools Week landed with a thud: a “secret” taxpayer-backed £1m payment enabling a PFI school to break free of its contract (plus analysis of profits), and a separate story in which a major academy trust disclosed being a victim of “historic fraud” over several years (with the trust stating it acted and recovered the money). These sit alongside the SEND funding narrative: governance capacity and financial transparency matter, because they shape what schools can sustain — including specialist staffing for maths, science and computing.

People changes are part of the system too: Schools Week reported GLF appointing a new CEO (from a DfE background). These moves matter because MAT strategy often determines what CPD gets protected, which curriculum resources get adopted, and how consistent practical science entitlement is across schools.

4) School improvement schemes: when “support” feels like scrutiny

The government’s RISE improvement programme is one of those initiatives that can be both a safety net and a spotlight. Schools Week summarised an early evaluation with leaders describing feeling “on trial”, reporting stigma effects, and mixed experiences of how support is delivered. For classroom teachers, the key question is: does the improvement work translate into better teaching conditions — time, clarity, sequencing, interventions — or does it mainly translate into reporting load?

Schools Week also carried an opinion piece arguing that small schools shouldn’t be treated as “broken” simply because data volatility is mathematically inevitable with tiny cohorts. Even if you’re in a large secondary, the underlying point applies to STEM: don’t let accountability metrics flatten context — especially when you’re measuring practical skills, option uptake, or small triple-science groups.

5) Post-16, apprenticeships and skills: rapid reform meets classroom reality

FE Week’s week is very “skills-policy in motion”. Two practical apprenticeship stories stood out for STEM teachers supporting careers education: ministers pledged to slash approval times for updating some apprenticeships (and to develop certain short courses quickly), and the DfE said construction firms working on school/college builds will be required to offer apprenticeship and T Level placement opportunities. For schools, this is a cue to strengthen local employer links: “placements and apprenticeships tied to estates projects” could become a live opportunity, not just a brochure promise.

Qualifications policy is bubbling again. FE Week reported that the defunding of BTECs and other applied general qualifications could be delayed further, with transition planning linked to proposed “V Levels”. In a separate piece, FE Week argued that V Level ambition risks outrunning reality without more time and flexibility. For STEM departments (especially applied science, IT, engineering pathways), the sensible move is to keep guidance evenings very “options-literate”: what’s available locally, what’s changing, and what is still genuinely uncertain.

Inspection reform is arriving in FE too: FE Week covered early “college report cards” and what they flagged (including retention/dropout risks and GCSE English/maths issues). If you’re in a school with a sixth form, or you work closely with your local college, this is worth a skim — it hints at where scrutiny may settle next (and where learners might need extra support to “stick” on STEM pathways).

Finally, Tes ran a piece on teaching apprenticeships and their potential role in addressing recruitment pressures — another reminder that “routes into teaching” is not just a HR topic; it affects subject capacity, timetable stability and the ability to run specialist STEM courses consistently.

6) Schools bill flashpoints: admissions, phones, and how change actually reaches classrooms

There’s a familiar pattern in education reform: the headline is big, the mechanism is complicated, and the classroom impact depends on implementation. This week, debates around the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill surfaced in multiple outlets. Tes covered a Lords vote to curb proposed new powers over academy admissions numbers; Schools Week covered tensions between MPs and Lords over admissions and phone-related amendments. We won’t repeat the same story twice — but if this matters to you (especially if you work in a growing area, or your local place planning is tight), these are the pieces to start with.

Reflections & prompts for STEM teachers

• Reading as a STEM strategy: What are the “hidden reading demands” in your subject (exam questions, practical write-ups, command words, graphs)? Where could you explicitly teach those without it feeling like “English in science”?
• SEND funding pressures: If core budgets are being squeezed, what’s your department’s “minimum viable practical entitlement”? Which practicals are essential for conceptual understanding, and which can be redesigned to be lower-cost without losing meaning?
• Ethical capacity choices: If EHCP/admin pressures are pushing schools toward external support, do you have a clear line on procurement, confidentiality, and quality assurance?
• School improvement programmes: When support is introduced, what would you want it to change first: curriculum sequencing, assessment practice, attendance routines, or behaviour systems? How will you know it’s helping rather than just adding reporting load?
• Careers & post-16 truthfulness: With qualifications and apprenticeship systems shifting, how do you keep guidance evenings honest (“here’s what’s confirmed” vs “here’s what’s proposed”) while still giving families confidence?
• Using cultural moments: What current book/TV/story hooks could you use to spark curiosity (classification, materials, ecosystems, forces), especially for reluctant readers or anxious learners?