Blogs

At a glance

• Recruitment & training: Up to £31k tax-free incentives for trainee teachers (schools) and FE bursaries extended.
• Qualifications: Plan emerging for new “V-level” vocational qualifications alongside A- and T-levels.
• Attendance: EEF finds texting parents days missed (not %) improves attendance; SW summary.
• Inspection & curriculum: Spielman warns of less subject-specific scrutiny under report cards.
• SEND & inclusion: DfE commissions best-practice guidance for SEN units; IFS projects high-needs spend up to £15bn by 2029.
• Leadership: Headteacher retention fragile: 1 in 3 secondaries lose heads within 3 years; Tes breakdown.
• Global experiences: Turing Scheme: over half of FE trips rejected this cycle.

Deep dive (with STEM takeaways)

1. £31k tax-free incentives (schools): Physics, chemistry, maths and computing feature heavily in DfE’s bursary push. Sky News. STEM tip: prepare mentoring capacity to avoid support bottlenecks.
2. FE bursaries through 2026–27: Up to £31k in shortage subjects; £15k (SEND) and £10k (English). FE Week. STEM tip: align school-college ITE pipelines for hard-to-fill posts.
3. “V-levels” proposal: A third route to complement A/T-levels as BTEC defunding progresses. Schools Week. STEM tip: map articulation with T-levels, HTQs and apprenticeships.
4. Attendance nudges that work: Texting days missed outperforms percentages; bigger gains for disadvantaged pupils and girls. EEF, Schools Week. STEM tip: pair texts with catch-up links for missed practicals.
5. Subject deep dives: at risk? Spielman cautions that report cards reduce subject-level inspection. Tes. STEM tip: keep internal QA of practicals, sequencing and portfolios.
6. SEN units best-practice guidance: Interim Dec, final Feb; aim is stronger mainstream provision design. Schools Week. STEM tip: co-design lab access, equipment adaptations, and assessment formats early.
7. High-needs funding pressure: IFS projects spend could reach £15bn by 2029. Schools Week. STEM tip: plan shared kits and flexible timetables to stretch resources.
8. Leadership churn: 1 in 3 secondary heads leave within three years. Schools Week, Tes. STEM tip: document key processes; build deputy leads for labs/practicals.
9. Turing approvals down: Just 48% of FE trips approved this cycle. FE Week. STEM tip: plan earlier, shrink cohorts, seek co-funding with industry/HE.
10. ITE quality checks restart: Early findings highlight mentor expertise and practical pedagogy. Schools Week. STEM tip: refresh mentor CPD on misconceptions, investigations and CS progression.

Quick actions for STEM teams

• Switch attendance comms to “days missed” and add one-click catch-up resources.
• Prep recruitment copy that spotlights bursaries and your mentoring pathway (trainee → ECT → responsibility).
• Run a mini internal deep-dive on required practicals or algorithms; capture in a one-pager.
• Draft a “practical access plan” with SEND leads ahead of SEN-unit guidance.
• Map 16–19 pathways (A/T/V-levels, HTQs, apprenticeships) with entry requirements and progression.

Direct links (copy/paste)

• Sky News — £31k trainee incentives (schools)
• FE Week — FE bursaries to 2026–27
• Schools Week — V-levels plan
• EEF — Attendance nudges evaluation
• Schools Week — Attendance study summary
• Tes — Subject inspection concerns
• Schools Week — SEN-unit guidance commissioned
• Schools Week — SEND spend projection
• Schools Week — Headteacher retention
• Tes — Leader retention analysis
• FE Week — Turing trips rejected
• Schools Week — Ofsted ITE findings

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.