The Week in Education: What mattered for STEM teachers

A teacher-facing long-read bringing together key stories (duplicates removed) and translating them into classroom and departmental implications for science, maths, computing and DT.

1) “Crisis of truth” in classrooms: conspiracy theories, misinformation and AI deepfakes

This was the standout “learning culture” story of the week: Schools Week reported that pupils are increasingly bringing conspiracy theories and misinformation into school, with staff in focus groups describing examples tied to current affairs and online narratives. The report also points to generative AI as a new accelerant, including AI-made images and videos that appear real. For STEM teachers, this matters because your subjects are often where claims get tested: data, evidence, models, probability, uncertainty, and “what would convince us either way?”

Practical classroom takeaway: treat “misinformation resilience” as a routine, not a one-off assembly topic. In STEM, you can normalise: checking sources, checking mechanisms, checking magnitudes, and distinguishing “possible” from “probable”. Also consider explicitly teaching what deepfakes are, how they’re made, and why they spread.

2) Funding pressure is landing in staffing: restructures, strike warnings and sixth-form concerns

Several linked pieces this week point in the same direction: budgets are tight enough that schools and trusts are making staffing decisions now. Schools Week reported strike warnings tied to planned restructures, and separate reporting on trusts preparing for staffing changes as pupil rolls fall. In post-16, Schools Week highlighted sixth-form leaders warning that funding levels are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain without narrowing subject offer or increasing class sizes. For STEM departments, the risk is predictable: fewer specialist teachers, reduced technician capacity, and less room for practical-heavy timetables.

Quick STEM check: if staffing tightens, identify your “non-negotiables” early (technician hours, safety consumables, required practicals, coursework support). That helps departments avoid drifting into “no practicals this term” decisions by accident.

3) SEND and capacity: special schools are full, and inclusion incentives are under scrutiny

SEND remained high on the agenda this week, with new capacity data and fresh debate about who gets access to the highest-performing schools. Tes reported DfE figures showing special schools are more than 10,000 pupils over capacity. Schools Week also carried analysis suggesting special-school over-capacity is around 11,000 pupils, underlining the practical reality behind the policy intent to strengthen mainstream inclusion.

A related inclusion story: Tes reported Sutton Trust analysis suggesting top-performing comprehensives take fewer disadvantaged pupils with SEND than live in their catchment areas. Schools Week also reported research suggesting some schools “actively discourage” applications from pupils on SEN support. Whatever your view, the practical implication for STEM teams is that inclusion is increasingly part of the accountability conversation — and that equitable access to practical work and assessment needs to be visible and well-designed.

4) Oracy is rising: ministers explore formative assessment, and AI-based approaches are being floated

Oracy continued to gather momentum. Schools Week reported ministers exploring whether there should be more formative assessment around oracy. Tes then carried a related angle, with Dame Alison Peacock suggesting AI could support oracy assessment without increasing teacher workload. For STEM, this is relevant because “explaining reasoning” is often where understanding becomes visible — whether that’s describing a method, defending a model, or talking through a solution pathway.

Quick classroom idea: build one “explain it out loud” checkpoint into practicals and problem sets (30–60 seconds), then capture it with a simple rubric (clarity, accuracy, evidence). Even if AI assessment never arrives, the habit itself improves learning.

5) Post-16 skills: apprenticeship budget rises, but delivery rules are under the microscope

FE Week’s big story in this period: the apprenticeship budget for 2026–27 is set to rise, but with significant pressure still visible in how funding is allocated. Alongside that, providers are raising concerns about the funding model for new “apprenticeship units”, arguing the payment structure could make delivery difficult. For schools: this is a reminder that “routes” (apprenticeships, T Levels, college pathways) are shaped by funding design — and that local provision can change quickly if delivery becomes financially risky.

STEM lens: when apprenticeships are being redesigned, pupils need better questions (not more hype). Encourage them to ask about off-the-job time, support for maths/English if needed, assessment model, and progression after completion.

6) Evidence literacy moment: “learning styles” still won’t die

Tes reported criticism of the DfE for promoting “learning styles” (visual/auditory/kinaesthetic) in a Get Into Teaching newsletter, despite the concept being widely disputed in education research. Why it matters for STEM: when shaky ideas spread, they tend to show up as time-consuming “initiative cycles” that distract from the things that actually improve learning (explicit instruction, practice, feedback, retrieval, modelling and metacognition).

Quick department habit: when a new “learning” idea turns up, ask two questions before adopting it — (1) what evidence supports it? (2) what will we stop doing to make time for it?

7) DfE machinery: property and regional leadership changes, plus school nurseries expansion

A cluster of Schools Week stories tracked changes inside the system: the government-backed property company LocatED moving into the DfE, and a new regional director appointment. This matters because estates and place planning decisions land in classrooms as “do we have space?”, “is the lab safe?”, and “can we expand provision locally?”. In early years, DfE named more than 300 schools awarded grants to open nurseries in unused classrooms, with councils set to lead future bids.

STEM link: if your site is gaining early years provision or repurposing rooms, it is worth checking knock-on impacts on specialist spaces (labs, prep rooms, DT workshops) and on technician/storage capacity.

Reflections & prompts for STEM teams

1) Misinformation routines: Choose one routine to embed weekly (source check, mechanism check, magnitude check, “what would change your mind?”). Make it part of normal STEM learning, not a special lesson.

2) Practical entitlement under staffing pressure: If technician/TA capacity drops, what is your safe minimum for practicals? Decide now which practicals remain hands-on, which become demos, and what extra controls are needed for safety and inclusion.

3) Inclusion in practical work: Pick one lab bottleneck (equipment issue, multi-step methods, noise/sensory load, written-only evidence). Trial one adjustment for two weeks and collect simple feedback from pupils.

4) Oracy for STEM: Add a short “talk checkpoint” to one topic this fortnight. Use a quick rubric (clarity, accuracy, evidence) and treat it as formative, not performative.

5) Careers guidance (apprenticeships): Update one slide/handout: key questions pupils should ask providers (training time, assessment model, support, progression). Keep it local and current.

6) Evidence literacy: When a new teaching idea appears, ask as a department: what evidence supports it, and what will we stop doing to make time for it?