The Week in Education: What mattered for STEM teachers

A teacher-facing long-read pulling together key stories from Tes, Schools Week, FE Week and the EEF. Duplicate coverage has been consolidated, with links to the original stories.

Note: BBC Education pages were blocked for automated access. Sky’s education page did not surface a distinct collection of new education stories for this period.

Quick map (if you only have two minutes)

• Extreme heat exposed the limitations of school buildings, with early closures, illness and renewed questions about maximum classroom temperatures.
• SEND inclusion bases moved closer to implementation, but guidance has not removed concerns about funding, staffing, curriculum access and accountability.
• Falling pupil numbers are hitting disadvantaged schools hardest, creating a difficult mix of shrinking budgets and increasing need.
• Teacher recruitment is becoming more unequal, with schools serving poorer communities less likely to appoint candidates they consider strong.
• EEF published encouraging evidence on adaptive tutoring, offering a useful contrast to the wider hype around AI tutors.
• White working-class attainment returned to the policy agenda, with recommendations focused on teacher recruitment, KS3 and long-term community support.
• Post-16 inclusion is receiving new attention, including partnerships between general FE colleges and specialist providers.

1) The heatwave: school buildings became a learning and safety issue

Record-breaking temperatures forced many schools to change their normal routines, with Tes reporting that around a quarter closed early during the hottest period. Schools described overheated classrooms, pupils becoming unwell and staff trying to balance safety with the expectation that education should continue.

The experience renewed calls for clearer temperature limits and long-term investment in ventilation, shading and cooling. It also prompted criticism of Ofsted after some inspections continued during the extreme conditions, despite schools managing significant disruption.

STEM spaces can be particularly difficult during extreme heat. Laboratories, workshops and computer rooms may contain heat-generating equipment, limited ventilation, protective clothing or practical activities requiring sustained concentration. Departments need a clear plan for when a practical should be adapted, replaced or postponed.

2) SEND inclusion bases: guidance arrives, but the difficult questions remain

The DfE published further guidance on how it expects SEND inclusion bases to operate within mainstream schools. The long-term ambition is for every secondary school to have a base, alongside a comparable expansion of places in primary schools.

The guidance distinguishes between specialist bases and support bases, and encourages schools to help pupils spend more time in mainstream classes where appropriate. However, school leaders remain concerned about staffing, space, funding and whether separate bases could unintentionally become places where pupils are removed from the wider curriculum.

For STEM teams, the crucial question is whether pupils using a base retain meaningful access to subject teaching and practical experiences. Inclusion should not mean that science, computing or design and technology quietly become inaccessible because of timetabling, adult support or safety concerns.

3) Falling pupil numbers: disadvantaged primary schools are losing pupils fastest

New analysis reported by Tes suggests that pupil numbers are falling more than twice as quickly in the most disadvantaged primary schools as in those serving more affluent communities. Schools with the largest falls also had higher average rates of eligibility for free school meals.

This creates a particularly difficult funding problem. Schools may lose income as rolls fall while still facing high levels of additional need, fixed building costs and pressure to maintain a broad curriculum. Local authorities, trusts and schools can also become caught in a standoff over whether to reorganise, merge or close provision.

Smaller cohorts could create opportunities for closer support and smaller classes, but only if funding arrangements make that possible. Otherwise, falling rolls may lead to mixed-age classes, reduced staffing and fewer enrichment opportunities. For STEM, the risk is that practical resources, specialist teaching or technician time are treated as optional costs.

4) Teacher recruitment may be improving overall, but not equally

Analysis reported by Schools Week suggests that recruitment has become easier for many schools compared with two years ago. However, schools serving the most disadvantaged communities remain less likely to appoint candidates they regard as strong.

Almost half of the most affluent state schools responding to the research reported appointing a strong candidate, compared with just over a third of the most disadvantaged schools. Schools serving poorer cohorts were also more likely to appoint someone about whom they had reservations or to give up and cover a vacancy internally.

This is particularly concerning for STEM subjects, where access to specialist teaching is already uneven. A school may technically fill a vacancy but still rely on teachers working outside their main specialism. Over time, that affects curriculum breadth, practical confidence, pupil uptake and attainment.

5) White working-class outcomes: teacher incentives and KS3 move up the agenda

An independent inquiry warned that England’s education system is not currently set up to serve white working-class children and families effectively. Recommendations included stronger teacher recruitment incentives in affected areas and more sustained support during key transitions.

The inquiry also highlighted KS3 as a critical period. This is particularly relevant to STEM, where confidence and subject identity often begin to decline during Years 7 to 9. Pupils who decide early that science, maths or computing are “not for them” may narrow their later options before GCSE choices are made.

The practical response should not be lower expectations or one-off aspiration events. It requires strong teaching, visible progression, meaningful careers connections and enrichment that pupils can access without needing family money, transport or prior confidence.

6) Intelligent tutoring: encouraging evidence, but implementation still matters

The EEF published findings from an independent randomised controlled trial of an intelligent tutoring programme that adapts lessons and feedback to individual pupils. The programme was found to improve progress and has been named a “promising programme” by the EEF.

This is useful evidence at a time when claims about AI tutoring are growing rapidly. The important distinction is that an effective tutor does more than provide fluent answers. It needs to respond to what a pupil understands, adjust the level of difficulty and offer feedback that moves learning forward.

Schools should still ask how the programme fits into classroom teaching, which pupils benefit most, how staff use the resulting information and whether the technology supports rather than replaces teacher judgement.

7) Post-16 SEND: specialist colleges asked to support mainstream FE

New guidance encourages general FE colleges to work with specialist post-16 providers when using their share of the £73 million inclusive mainstream fund. Suggested activity includes staff training, shadowing, placements in specialist settings, assistive technology and the development of more sensory-aware environments.

This partnership approach could help colleges draw on specialist knowledge without expecting every institution to develop expertise independently. However, sector leaders warned that mainstream inclusion should not be used to diminish the role of specialist provision for learners with more complex needs.

For schools, this reinforces the importance of transition planning. Information about successful classroom adjustments, communication, assistive technology and practical access needs should move with the learner, rather than being rediscovered after enrolment.

8) SEND reform and political change: continuity matters

FE Week commentary warned that political and ministerial change could become a major threat to SEND reform if it leads to established work being paused, replaced or restarted. Families, schools and providers have already spent years contributing evidence and describing what needs to change.

Education reform inevitably changes as governments and ministers change, but repeated resets carry a cost. Schools continue supporting pupils while the policy process moves around them, often without the staffing or funding required to respond to each new direction.

At department level, this is a reminder to focus on practices that remain valuable regardless of political change: clear explanations, adaptive teaching, predictable routines, strong relationships and access to a broad curriculum.

9) Safeguarding and mental health: schools cannot remain the default waiting room

Further sector commentary highlighted the long waits children face for mental health support and the growing pressure this places on schools. Teachers and safeguarding leaders are increasingly supporting pupils whose needs require clinical or specialist intervention, often while families wait for external services.

In STEM classrooms, unmet mental health needs may appear as absence, withdrawal, difficulty concentrating, dysregulation or avoidance of practical work. Teachers need clear information and appropriate classroom strategies, but they should not be expected to replace mental health professionals.

The most sustainable response combines predictable classroom routines and trusted relationships with clear escalation routes, realistic staff boundaries and properly funded external services.

Reflections & prompts for STEM teams

1) Heatwave planning: Which practical activities become unsafe or ineffective in extreme heat? Agree alternatives in advance and identify rooms or equipment that create additional risk.

2) Inclusion base access: If pupils spend time in an inclusion base, how will they retain access to practical STEM? Check timetabling, specialist teaching, technician support and movement between settings.

3) Falling rolls: Identify which department costs remain fixed as pupil numbers fall. Make the case for protecting technician capacity, specialist equipment and small but strategically important courses.

4) Unequal recruitment: How can your school make a STEM vacancy attractive beyond salary? Consider subject-specific CPD, manageable practical expectations, mentoring, technician support and protected planning time.

5) KS3 STEM identity: Where do pupils begin to decide that STEM is “not for them”? Review challenge, representation, careers links and opportunities for early success across Years 7 to 9.

6) Intelligent tutoring: Before buying a programme, ask what the evaluation actually measured, which pupils benefited and what teacher involvement was required. Evidence of impact matters more than an AI label.

7) Transition into FE: For pupils with SEND, document the practical adjustments that genuinely work in STEM lessons. Share the detail, not simply the diagnosis or broad area of need.

8) Sustainable inclusion: Choose one practice that helps a broad range of pupils and can survive policy change: visual instructions, worked examples, consistent routines, checking for understanding or flexible ways to show learning.