The Week in Education: What mattered for STEM teachers

An educator-facing long-read pulling together key stories from Tes, Schools Week, FE Week, Sky News and the EEF. Duplicate coverage has been consolidated, and each story is linked so you can read the original.

Quick map (if you only have two minutes)

• Ofsted guidance has been updated for September 2026, with clearer focus on inclusion, disadvantage, medical conditions and enrichment.
• Natural history GCSE has finally been given the go-ahead, opening a useful curriculum and careers conversation around ecology, biodiversity and environmental science.
• EHCP numbers have passed half a million, sharpening the SEND capacity question for mainstream schools and STEM practical settings.
• Food, behaviour and wellbeing remain connected, with new school food findings landing just as food standards reform moves forward.
• Phones and social media stayed high on the agenda, including under-16 social media restrictions and a major phone pouch procurement framework.
• Evidence on AI is moving from hype to research, with EEF committing funding to study how AI tools affect learning and cognition.
• FE and post-16 policy mirrored school priorities, especially around enrichment, apprenticeship subcontracting and support for learners with additional needs.

1) Ofsted 2026–27: inclusion, disadvantage and medical needs become more explicit

The biggest “systems” story of the week was Ofsted’s updated inspection guidance and toolkits for the 2026–27 academic year. Tes and Schools Week both highlighted changes around how inspectors will consider achievement, disadvantage, SEND, inclusion strategies, medical needs and enrichment. The updated approach places more emphasis on context: pupils’ starting points, comparison with similar schools, and how leaders support pupils facing barriers.

For STEM departments, the practical message is this: inclusion and achievement will be judged through what pupils can actually learn, remember, do and produce across the curriculum. That means safe practical entitlement, accessible instructions, purposeful assessment and strong subject knowledge remain the core work. It also means departments should be able to explain how pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with medical needs access practical science, maths, computing and DT.

2) Natural history GCSE: finally approved, and very relevant to STEM identity

Tes reported that the long-awaited natural history GCSE has finally been given the go-ahead, with content to be decided following consultation. This is a genuinely STEM-rich curriculum development. It gives schools a route to connect ecology, biodiversity, classification, fieldwork, data collection, environmental change and human impact in a way that feels tangible to pupils.

Even if your school does not intend to offer the qualification immediately, it is a useful prompt for science and geography teams: how visible is local nature in your curriculum? Do pupils collect real data? Do they see environmental science as a future-facing STEM field rather than just a “nice outdoor topic”? This could also support careers links into conservation, ecology, environmental engineering, green infrastructure, data science and climate adaptation.

3) EHCPs rise above half a million: the mainstream capacity question gets sharper

Tes reported that the number of pupils with education, health and care plans has risen above half a million, with the latest data showing a substantial increase over recent years. This sits alongside ongoing questions about the government’s “Experts at Hand” service and the number of specialist staff needed to make mainstream inclusion work.

For STEM teachers, this is not an abstract policy point. It shows up in practical lessons: pupils needing clearer routines, alternative recording methods, support with transitions, reduced sensory load, adapted equipment use, or different ways to demonstrate understanding. A rise in formal plans also means schools need clean communication between SENCOs, departments, technicians, pastoral teams and families.

4) School food and behaviour: nutrition is not separate from learning

Tes reported findings linking unhealthy school food with disruptive behaviour, as the consultation on school food standards closed ahead of new rules. Schools Week also reported warnings that proposed governor oversight of food standards could become counterproductive if it blurs the line between strategic oversight and day-to-day management.

This is a useful STEM and whole-school learning story. Nutrition can connect to biology, chemistry, data literacy and public health. Behaviour and concentration after lunch are also very practical teaching issues. If food standards change, schools may need to consider pupil uptake, waste, affordability, dining logistics and the knock-on effect on afternoon lessons.

5) Phones and social media: policy is moving, but implementation is the real test

Tes reported that school leaders have cautiously welcomed government plans for an under-16 social media ban, with some major platforms set to be inaccessible while messaging apps would be permitted. Tes also reported a £60m framework to supply phone pouches to schools, with lockable pouches central to the DfE’s phone-free school plans.

For STEM departments, this is about more than behaviour. In labs, workshops and computer rooms, distraction can quickly become a safety or safeguarding issue. However, implementation must also account for medical needs, accessibility, safeguarding exceptions and staff workload. The best policies will be simple, consistent and clear enough that teachers are not left negotiating every lesson.

6) AI in education: the evidence base is catching up with the hype

Schools Week reported a £2.5m fund to study how AI tools are affecting learning, including whether pupils are “offloading” thinking tasks. The EEF also listed new work to build the evidence base around AI and learning. This is exactly the kind of research the sector needs: not “is AI good or bad?”, but “what does it do to thinking, memory, practice and independence?”

For STEM teachers, the key issue is protecting reasoning. AI can help generate practice, reduce admin and support explanations, but pupils still need to show the thinking: working, error analysis, method choice, evidence evaluation and oral explanation. If those thinking moments disappear, learning gets thinner even if the final answer looks polished.

7) Enrichment benchmarks: opportunity, aspiration and the capacity problem

Schools Week reported that the DfE has now published new enrichment benchmarks for schools, covering areas such as civic engagement, arts, nature, sport and life skills. Tes also reported concerns that there is no firm government funding commitment for schools. FE Week carried a parallel post-16 angle, setting out new enrichment benchmarks for colleges.

STEM departments should pay attention because enrichment is one of the strongest routes into STEM identity: clubs, trips, competitions, employer encounters, practical projects and real-world problem solving. The risk is that enrichment becomes a glossy add-on for pupils who already opt in. The equity question is simple: which STEM experiences does every pupil get by default?

8) Workload, pensions and staffing: pressure remains visible

Tes reported that school paperwork has surged due to “horrendous” Ofsted workload, with many secondary schools already producing additional documents for new inspections. Tes also reported that a steep fall in teacher pension payments is considered “highly likely”, while NEU accounts show industrial action ballots increasing and the strike fund falling as pay decisions loom.

The STEM implication is about protection. When workload pressure rises, practical preparation, technician liaison, high-quality feedback and curriculum refinement are often squeezed. Departments may need to be explicit about what they will stop doing if inspection preparation or administrative work expands.

9) FE and skills: subcontracting, meals and post-16 inclusion

FE Week reported that DWP has launched an apprenticeship subcontracting review, with reforms expected from January 2027. This matters for STEM pathways because subcontracting affects quality, accountability and who actually delivers training. FE Week also reported that the college free meals rate has been lifted after backlash, following criticism that colleges would receive less than schools.

FE Week also recently reported new post-16 SEND inclusion cash, with colleges and training providers to receive a share of the inclusive mainstream fund. For schools, the transition point matters: students with SEND need coherent support from Year 11 into FE, not a cliff edge between systems.

10) Early years, breaks and belonging: the conditions for STEM learning start early

Tes analysis this week looked at why too many boys are not school-ready, highlighting the number of boys from low-income families not reaching a good level of development by age five. Tes also explored whether schools should restore “proper” lunch breaks and breaktimes. These may not look like STEM stories, but they are deeply connected to STEM success.

Language, self-regulation, attention, talk, play and movement all feed into later scientific thinking and mathematical reasoning. If pupils arrive in Year 7 with weak vocabulary, low confidence and little stamina for effortful thinking, STEM departments feel it quickly. The answer is not lower expectations; it is stronger routines, clearer language, more modelling and more deliberate opportunities to talk through thinking.

Reflections & prompts for STEM teams

1) Ofsted without paperwork bloat: What evidence already exists in pupils’ work, curriculum planning and practical routines? Avoid creating “inspection documents” that do not improve learning.

2) Natural history as a STEM bridge: Could one upcoming unit include local fieldwork, biodiversity data, environmental careers or citizen science? Keep it small and real.

3) EHCP growth and practical access: Pick one lab/workshop routine that creates barriers. Trial a universal adjustment for two weeks: visual instructions, staged equipment issue, lower-noise transitions, or alternative evidence formats.

4) Phone-free STEM spaces: Agree your non-negotiable safety line for phones in practical spaces, but document clear exceptions for medical/accessibility needs so staff are not negotiating from scratch.

5) AI and thinking visibility: For one extended task, require visible thinking evidence: worked steps, draft trail, error analysis, oral explanation or annotated method choice.

6) Enrichment by default: Which STEM opportunities are currently opt-in and therefore less equitable? Choose one experience every pupil can access within the timetable next term.

7) Food, behaviour and afternoon learning: Track whether specific afternoon lessons or groups show changes after lunch. Is the issue behaviour, hunger, queues, food choice, heat, or transition?

8) Post-16 SEND transition: For pupils moving into FE, what information does the receiving provider need about successful STEM adjustments? Build it into transition notes before the summer rush.