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UK Education Round‑up: 27 Aug – 2 Sep 2025 (STEM‑first)

A weekly long‑read for UK STEM teachers and leaders.

This week at a glance (STEM first, but not solely)

1. Physics specialist shortage hits the headlines — Up to 700,000 GCSE students may lack a physics specialist this year, according to sector reporting. Useful context for timetabling and CPD plans. (Tes)

2. Behaviour & attendance push — Government unveils the first 21 Behaviour & Attendance Hubs and appoints Tom Bennett and Jayne Lowe as ambassadors; sector reaction and practical evidence round‑ups published the same day. (Schools Week, Tes, EEF response)

3. National Behaviour Survey — Teachers and leaders diverge sharply on behaviour, with teachers far more likely to call it ‘poor’. Useful nuance for staff briefings. (Schools Week, Tes)

4. Cybersecurity alert — Supplier Intradev says school staff personal data may be compromised in a ransomware attack. Time to revisit your vendor risk checks and incident playbook. (Schools Week)

5. Buildings & safety — RAAC concerns still affecting starts of term, with temporary classrooms ordered at speed. Keep contingency plans warm. (Schools Week)

6. Languages policy signal — Funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme cut by 25%, with enrichment travel scaled back; hours reduced from 8 to 6 per week. (Schools Week)

7. Workforce pipeline — Part‑time ITT routes could bring ~1,000 extra trainees; DfE also cuts £74m from a Teach First contract competition. (Tes – part‑time training, Tes – Teach First funding)

8. School role creep — Unions warn schools are being left to pick up wider public‑service gaps; expect more discussion on remit vs. resource. (Sky News)

9. FE leadership change — Ellen Thinnesen named the next FE Commissioner, signalling a focus on improvement support and sector stability. (FE Week)

10. Adult learning capacity shock — Derbyshire announces sudden closures to five adult‑ed centres from 1 Sept; ripple effects for community skills. (FE Week)

11. AI in the classroom — Two in five teachers feel like they’re ‘cheating’ when using AI; confidence gap across staff. Good prompt for staff development plans. (Schools Week)

Deep‑dive summaries (with the STEM angle)

1) Physics specialist shortage (2 Sept)

The story: Sector coverage suggests that up to 700,000 GCSE students could be without a specialist physics teacher this year. (Tes)

Why it matters for STEM: Specialist physics teaching correlates with stronger conceptual understanding, more practical work, and higher post‑16 uptake. For combined science, ‘out‑of‑field’ teaching can constrain depth.

What to do next: Audit timetable allocations by specialism; prioritise physics specialist time for exam‑year classes and practicals. Consider targeted CPD (subject knowledge enhancement, mentoring) for non‑specialists, and use technician hours to protect core practicals.

2) Behaviour & attendance hubs + ambassadors (31 Aug)

The story: Government named 21 initial Behaviour & Attendance Hubs and appointed Tom Bennett and Jayne Lowe as national ambassadors to oversee the scheme. (Schools Week, Tes)

Evidence context: The EEF welcomed the focus but urged context‑sensitive approaches and family engagement; it also highlighted low‑cost, high‑impact tactics such as personalised attendance texts and consistent whole‑school routines. (EEF response)

Why it matters for STEM: Calm corridors and predictable routines protect lab learning time, reduce equipment mishaps, and make practicals viable. Attendance recovery is strongly linked to attainment in subjects with cumulative content like maths and physics.

What to do next: Map your current behaviour/attendance strategy to the EEF’s evidence‑informed recommendations; nominate a lead to scout hub offers as they open locally, and schedule a September parent‑communications refresh.

3) National Behaviour Survey (1 Sept)

The story: Teachers report classrooms are less calm, and are 3x more likely than leaders to rate behaviour as ‘poor’. Pupils report feeling less safe than last year, though motivation has ticked up. (Schools Week, Tes)

Why it matters for STEM: Reduced perceived safety can discourage practical work and collaborative tasks, particularly in labs and workshops; motivation gains are an opportunity for high‑challenge, well‑scaffolded tasks in science, maths and computing.

What to do next: Align behaviour training to lab‑specific routines (entry/exit, equipment handling, attention signals). Pair any sanctions refresh with positive recognition systems and low‑effort teacher routines (e.g., retrieval starters; live modelling).

4) Cybersecurity: Intradev attack (28 Aug)

The story: MIS/HR supplier Intradev reported a ransomware incident that may have exposed school staff personal data. (Schools Week)

Why it matters for STEM: Data‑handling is a whole‑school risk, but STEM departments often hold additional kit inventories, exam materials and student project data. Phishing often targets technicians and exams/admin teams.

What to do next: Ask your DPO to confirm your incident response posture for third‑party breaches (contract checks, ICO thresholds, staff comms). Run a 15‑minute phishing drill and refresh password‑manager guidance for staff.

5) RAAC: delayed returns and temporary classrooms (published 29 Aug)

The story: RAAC concerns continue to cause start‑of‑term delays and temporary classroom orders at short notice. (Schools Week)

Why it matters for STEM: Laboratories and workshops are more complex to decant; power, ventilation and safety storage may limit where STEM teaching can relocate.

What to do next: Keep a STEM decant plan ready: where to deliver practical‑lite sequences, how to stage demo‑first practicals safely, and which topics can flex into simulation/data‑rich alternatives until labs reopen.

6) Mandarin Excellence Programme funding cut (2 Sept)

The story: The MEP’s school‑level grant is reduced by 25% (from £20k to £15k per cohort); hours move from 8→6 per week and many enrichment trips will no longer be centrally funded. (Schools Week)

Why it matters for STEM: STEM is global. Fewer enrichment opportunities may narrow pupils’ exposure to international STEM contexts. The decision also signals how specialist programmes may be reshaped under budget pressure.

What to do next: If your school offers Mandarin, reassess staffing/timetable feasibility and seek partnerships (e.g., sister schools, virtual exchanges) to preserve cultural/STEM links.

7) ITT & workforce moves (2 Sept)

The stories:

• Part‑time training routes could add ~1,000 new teachers, broadening entry for career‑changers and those with caring responsibilities. (Tes)

• DfE has reduced by £74m the value available to bidders in a major Teach First delivery competition. (Tes)

Why it matters for STEM: Flexible ITT is often pivotal for recruiting subject‑specialist switchers (engineers, data scientists). Contract shifts may influence where and how training places are targeted.

What to do next: If you host trainees, talk to partners about part‑time placements in hard‑to‑recruit subjects. Consider structured induction for career‑changers (subject pedagogy + classroom routines).

8) ‘Schools picking up the pieces’ (2 Sept)

The story: ASCL argues schools are being expected to fill gaps left by other services (from food banks to housing support) and calls for a clearer remit‑vs‑resource settlement. (Sky News)

Why it matters for STEM: Role creep can squeeze time/space for enrichment and practical work, especially if labs and technicians are repurposed for wider school needs.

What to do next: Log non‑teaching asks on leaders’ time; use the data in conversations with governors/trusts about safeguarding core teaching time, particularly practical STEM.

9) FE Commissioner appointment (28 Aug)

The story: Ellen Thinnesen, CEO of Education Partnership North East, will become FE Commissioner in January, succeeding Shelagh Legrave. (FE Week)

Why it matters for STEM: The FE Commissioner’s team influences intervention/support in colleges hosting key STEM provision (engineering, construction, digital). Expect continued emphasis on alignment with regional skills needs.

What to do next: Schools with strong FE links (T Levels, UTC partners) should watch for signals on curriculum efficiency reviews and employer engagement.

10) Adult‑ed centre closures (announced 29 Aug; effective 1 Sept)

The story: Derbyshire County Council moved to close five adult‑education centres with minimal notice, citing shifts in grant conditions. (FE Week)

Why it matters for STEM: Local adult‑ed often underpins entry‑level maths/digital reskilling for parents and older learners; closures can reduce family learning and community pipelines into STEM pathways.

What to do next: Map alternative local provision to signpost families (college outreach, online numeracy offers), especially where your school runs family learning or community STEM clubs.

11) AI use: ‘cheating’ or tool? (27 Aug)

The story: A survey for Bett finds two in five teachers feel like they’re ‘cheating’ when using AI for core teaching tasks; overall adoption is uneven across staff. (Schools Week)

Why it matters for STEM: AI can accelerate admin and planning, and—used carefully—support adaptive practice. But without shared norms, usage stays patchy.

What to do next: Agree a staff AI code of practice (transparency, data security, plagiarism safeguards) and provide short, hands‑on demos (e.g., generating mark schemes, differentiating problem sets, creating low‑stakes quizzes).

Also noted (not duplicated)

• We’ve consolidated overlapping coverage of the behaviour hubs/ambassadors and the national behaviour survey into single entries above, with links to multiple sources so you can pick your preferred read.

Reflections & prompts for STEM departments

1. Physics capacity planning — Where are your non‑specialist‑taught physics classes? What’s the minimum viable mix of demos, practicals and simulations that maintains conceptual depth without over‑stretching staff?

2. Behaviour routines in labs — Which two routines (entry set‑up; practical hand‑back and clean‑down) will you reteach this week so practical time isn’t eroded?

3. Attendance nudges — Could you trial personalised texts to families of persistently absent pupils in exam‑year STEM groups for half a term? Who will own the messages and monitor the data?

4. AI with integrity — Draft a one‑pager clarifying acceptable AI uses (e.g., lesson outline drafting, quiz generation) and non‑acceptable uses (e.g., uncredited feedback). Build in a staff show‑and‑tell slot at a department meeting.

5. Vendor risk — List your top three third‑party systems with staff/student data. Do you know the breach notification routes and who emails whom in the first hour?

6. STEM decant playbook — If a lab/workshop closed tomorrow, what’s the first two weeks of adjusted curriculum? Where are the spillover rooms? Who holds chemical inventories?

7. Wider‑services triage — Which non‑teaching asks are landing on STEM staff (e.g., lunchtime cover in labs)? Log them for leaders, and protect technician time during practical peaks.

One‑page SLT/Department briefing (shareable)

Key headlines: Physics specialist gap; behaviour/attendance policy push; survey shows safety/motivation split; cyber incident; RAAC contingency; MEP funding cut; workforce route tweaks; FE leadership change; adult‑ed closures.

Immediate actions (this fortnight):

• Timetable/CPD audit for physics coverage; pair non‑specialists with mentors.

• Re‑teach two lab routines; align rewards with behaviour policy tweaks; refresh parent comms.

• Run a 15‑minute phishing drill + verify vendor breach clauses; check backups.

• Draft an AI code of practice for staff use; schedule two micro‑CPD demos.

• Update RAAC/STEM decant plan with practical‑lite sequences and kit storage checks.

Watch‑list:

• Behaviour & Attendance Hub offers in your region; EEF guidance tie‑in.

• Teacher supply developments (part‑time ITT availability; Teach First tender changes).

• Local FE stability (commissioner leadership; adult‑ed impacts on families).

Compiled for the week Wed 27 Aug – Tue 2 Sept 2025. Links above go to the original reporting.

Note: This blog post is an AI curated summary of news articles from various sources. The aim is to provide educators with a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the education sector. All hyperlinks direct readers to the original news articles for further reading.