UK trials teen social media bans ahead of potential crackdown Tech Hundreds of teenagers across the UK are set to take part in a government-backed trial of social media restrictions, as ministers weigh whether to introduce a nationwide ban for under-16s. The six-week pilot will see 300 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 split into four groups, testing different levels of access to apps such as [...]
What could digital exams mean for British pupils? Tech By the end of the decade, British pupils could be swapping pens for keyboards in GCSE and A Levels, marking the biggest change to exams in a generation. Ofqual has launched a 12-week consultation on regulating on-screen assessments, showing that digital exams are no longer a distant idea. Under the proposals, each exam board would [...]
Starmer accused of ‘fudging the facts’ of his schooling by education expert Politics Sir Keir Starmer has faced accusations of “fudging the facts” about his education, from the founder of a social mobility charity. Sutton Trust founder Sir Peter Lampl, who went to the same school as the Prime Minister, Reigate Grammar, made the claim as he attacked the government’s plans to charge VAT on private school fees. [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: UK private schools hit by VAT fees October 30, 2024 Private schools will be subject to VAT on fees from the start of 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in today’s Autumn Budget. As expected, the government is removing the tax benefits previously linked to the charitable status of all private schools in the UK. Tuition and boarding tuition fees will now be taxed 20 per [...]
‘Challenging policy’: What the pushback to private school VAT plans reveals October 8, 2024 VAT… easy as ABC? It may not quite be Blair’s ‘education, education, education’ mantra, or Michael Gove’s multi-academy trusts. But for Sir Keir ‘my-father-was-a-toolmaker’ Starmer, there’s been one education policy that’s been front and centre of his manifesto and the first 100 days. This is, of course, the plan to impose VAT on private school [...]
Teaching unions urge government to delay private school VAT roll out October 7, 2024 Teaching unions have urged the government to delay the roll out of private schools having to pay 20 per cent VAT on fees, amid fears of job losses and a “significant burden” on HMRC. Reports emerged on Sunday that ministers were reevaluating the policy – after the Treasury initially declined to confirm it would take [...]
Teaching unions may come to regret Ofsted reforms September 3, 2024 Abolishing one-word Ofsted judgements could be a good thing, but not for the reasons the government says, writes David Thomas The government has abolished single-word Ofsted judgments. For now schools will get grades for each of the four sub-categories currently in use, and from next year they’ll be replaced by a report card. Unions are [...]
Sadiq Khan should remember there’s no such thing as a free lunch April 19, 2024 Free school meals for the children on multi-millionaires is classic Khan – superficial, unevidenced and the wrong priority for London, says Alys Denby Sadiq Khan has made the promise of permanent free school meals the centrepiece of his reelection campaign. It’s typical of the Mayor’s approach to governing, being utterly superficial, unevidenced and the wrong [...]