The Week in Education: What mattered for STEM teachers

A teacher-facing long-read that joins the dots across Schools Week, Tes and FE Week. Duplicates removed; links included so you can dig deeper.

Quick map (if you only have two minutes)

• SEND reform moved from “consultation” to “legislation” via an Education for All bill announcement.
• Inclusion funding was scrutinised and early analysis suggests the “headline billions” may translate into modest per-school allocations.
• Behaviour policy got more complicated: internal exclusions may not reduce suspensions, and new recording expectations loom.
• Safeguarding + digital harm stayed high: KCSIE changes, online abuse of teachers, and how schools protect staff and pupils.
• Assessment is inching into the “phone ban” era while also nudging students toward digital results access.
• FE was busy with skills plumbing: SEND transitions into FE, T Level teacher CPD contract changes, devolution capital, and workforce disputes.

1) SEND reforms: the shift from “plans” to a bill

The single biggest policy signal of the week is that SEND reforms are now being positioned for legislation. Schools Week reported that the King’s Speech confirmed an “Education for All” bill to legislate SEND changes, with the government framing the reforms around earlier support, stronger protections and new legal duties. In teacher terms: the direction of travel is still “mainstream schools doing more”, but with more standardisation and more accountability built in.

A useful companion is Schools Week’s follow-up on international learning: the education secretary launched an “international SEND alliance” to compare approaches and share what works, and announced that England will rejoin the OECD’s TALIS teacher survey in 2030. That matters for STEM teachers because “what works” in inclusion often lives in routines: instructions, working memory load, sensory environment, practical safety, and how students evidence learning.

2) Inclusion funding: when a big number turns into a small lever

If SEND reform is the “destination”, inclusion funding is being presented as part of the “bridge”. Schools Week ran an investigation into how the £1.6bn inclusive mainstream fund may land at school level, suggesting many schools could receive allocations that feel closer to “budget balancing” than “transformational inclusion”. The important bit is not the headline figure, but the practical constraint it points to: inclusion becomes real through staffing, training, time, and space.

STEM angle: inclusion costs can be disproportionately visible in practical subjects. A small drop in teaching assistant hours or technician capacity can turn “hands-on for everyone” into “demo for safety”. If you lead STEM, this is a good week to define your non-negotiables: safe practical entitlement, routines that reduce cognitive load, and clear options for alternative evidence of understanding.

3) Behaviour policy: internal exclusions may not reduce suspensions

Behaviour conversations often turn into a binary (“strict” vs “restorative”), but this week’s most useful contribution was data. Schools Week summarised early analysis from the Education Policy Institute suggesting internal exclusions (removing pupils from class but keeping them in school) may not function as an alternative to suspensions in the way many hope. The analysis found tentative correlations where higher internal exclusion use was associated with higher suspension rates, although the researchers caution the sample is small and should be interpreted carefully.

What makes this especially relevant now is that internal exclusions may be recorded under forthcoming guidance, and schools are being nudged to reduce “send them home” responses except for the most serious cases. For STEM: the lesson isn’t “don’t use internal exclusion” — it’s “don’t expect one lever to solve a complex behaviour system”. Labs and workshops benefit most from predictable, low-drama routines (entry, seating, equipment issue, safe roles, staged instructions, calm escalation).

4) Safeguarding in 2026: KCSIE changes, online abuse, and staff wellbeing

Safeguarding didn’t take a back seat this week. Tes reported that a “significant overhaul” of KCSIE has safeguarding leads describing the implementation deadline as unrealistic, given the breadth of changes. In parallel, Tes covered survey findings that online abuse of teachers is a growing professional risk, including fake accounts, manipulated images, and AI-generated content. Schools Week also carried a mental-health angle: designated safeguarding leads reporting “vicarious trauma” and calling for supervision and protected time.

STEM angle: if your department uses practical work, technology, filming (DT/engineering) or digital platforms, this is a strong reminder to refresh “safe use” expectations with pupils. It is also a chance to teach digital literacy with real relevance: how manipulation works, how AI media is produced, and how to check authenticity without spiralling into cynicism.

5) Phones, exams and “digital by default”: GCSE results app meets phone restrictions

This week delivered a slightly awkward collision between two policy directions: tighter phone restrictions in schools, and a push toward digital access to results. Schools Week reported that the DfE clarified pupils can bring phones to school to use a GCSE results app, with identity verification in person. In practical terms, many schools will want a tight, one-day-only process: clear messaging, clearly defined “where/when”, and zero mission creep into normal phone use.

Tes also covered a separate GCSE maths complaint with calls for “corrective action”, signalling ongoing sensitivity about trust in the exams system. For STEM teachers, this is a useful prompt: students benefit from clear routes for raising concerns calmly (what to do, who to tell, what evidence matters) without catastrophising.

6) System stories that still reach your classroom: mergers, conversion, and inspection quality

A few “system mechanics” stories this week are worth noting because they shape workload, capacity and consistency. Tes reported continued trust mergers (including the White Horse Federation taking on more schools), and a separate story on all schools converting in England’s first fully-academised area. Tes also highlighted concerns raised about a particular model of international school inspection under the DfE “kitemark” (BSO inspections), with the inspectorate promising improvement.

STEM angle: structural shifts can be good for subject communities when they grow shared CPD, common assessments and better resourcing. They can also go the other way if they standardise without respecting facilities (labs, prep rooms, DT workshops) or squeeze technician time. If you are in a trust, this is a good week to ask: “What does our trust-level strategy do to protect practical entitlement?”

7) FE and skills: the pipeline matters (and it’s under pressure)

FE Week’s stories this week were all variations of the same theme: a growing skills system needs stable funding, stable workforce, and coherent policy. A core SEND story landed for post-16: FE Week reported that SEND reforms will target “shameful” transitions into FE, including how high-needs place funding and planning work. At the same time, FE Week reported an exam-time strike at Capital City College over workload concerns, a reminder that workforce strain in FE lands right in the middle of the assessment cycle.

In CPD news, FE Week reported the Association of Colleges winning a large T Level teacher training contract (renamed technical & vocational subject teaching professional development). For STEM teachers, this matters because subject-specific pedagogy and industry alignment are where technical routes either thrive or quietly become “not worth it”.

Finally, FE Week covered capital funding aimed at capacity constraints in devolved areas in response to an expected bulge in 16–17-year-olds by 2028. That is directly relevant to STEM pathways: engineering workshops, digital labs and specialist staffing cannot be scaled overnight.

8) AI, LSIPs and V Levels: the “skills system” debate you’ll hear in careers conversations

FE Week also ran thoughtful pieces on the direction of skills policy. One argues that Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are improving employer-education alignment, but the wider system is still out of sync. Another frames AI as a mirror: FE must decide what it reflects, with educators safeguarding reality and ensuring tools amplify human growth rather than replace it. And there’s continuing scepticism about whether a new qualification brand (V Levels) will solve vocational education challenges.

STEM teacher takeaway: this is the backdrop for student questions like “should I do A levels, a T Level, an apprenticeship, or a V Level?”. The most helpful response is practical: local availability, quality signals, support structures, and progression routes.

EEF check-in

The EEF news feed did not publish a new item dated 13–19 May 2026 during this scan. If you want an evidence companion to this week’s big themes (inclusion, routines, and pupil progress), a useful recent anchor is the EEF/UCL attainment grouping research (sets vs mixed attainment) published in late April.

Reflections & prompts for STEM teams

1) SEND reforms in your classroom: If mainstream is expected to do more, what are your three biggest barriers to access in STEM (language load, working memory, sensory environment, practical safety, assessment format)? Choose one barrier and trial one universal adjustment for two weeks.

2) Inclusion funding realism: If “new money” mainly stabilises budgets, what else do you need to make inclusion work (training, routines, specialist advice, time)? Write a one-page “inclusion enablers” list for your department.

3) Internal exclusion isn’t a magic wand: Audit your practical lessons for points where behaviour escalates (entry, equipment issue, group roles, transitions). Simplify one routine and measure whether it reduces disruption and improves safety.

4) Digital harm and safeguarding: Do staff have a shared “first 10 minutes” script for incidents involving fake accounts, edited clips or AI-generated content? Agree who leads, how evidence is preserved, and what the safeguarding route is.

5) Phones + GCSE results day: If your school uses the results app, design a tight process that keeps the exception narrow (where, when, supervised, then away). Communicate it early to pupils and families.

6) FE pipeline awareness: Update one careers slide or tutor-time script for STEM routes with the most current local picture: which colleges have capacity, what technical options exist, and what questions pupils should ask about support and progression.

7) Staff sustainability: Choose one small change that reduces adult workload in practical STEM (a shared “hazards + method” template, standard equipment issue routine, or a reusable modelling slide deck). Small efficiencies compound.