What's New

Mainly spread by wild animals in parts of west or central Africa, and first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970, monkeypox has suddenly appeared in 14 countries with, for the first time, the virus being found in people with no clear connection to the usual countries of origin.

According to figures from a leading social mobility charity, 68% of primary school senior leaders report receiving insufficient catch-up funding this year, with 51% saying that they have reduced the number of teaching assistants.

In February we reported on the launch of a public consultation seeking views on proposed revisions to the Teaching Regulation Agency’s (TRA’s) guidance Teacher Misconduct: the Prohibition of Teachers (see Regulating the teaching profession).

Ofqual’s chief regulator Jo Saxton has written to schools and colleges as they reach the start of the summer series, with exams and formal assessments taking place for the first summer since 2019.

Tradition dictates that it is the Queen’s Speech although, of course, it is written by the Government, setting out the legislative programme for the parliamentary session ahead, and this year it was read to MPs by the Prince of Wales because of the Queen’s mobility problems.

Ofqual has republished its guide covering a range of information on the awarding of GCSEs, AS and A levels. Although the information has previously been published elsewhere, the guide brings it together to form a useful reference document for schools and colleges.

Arguing that its work is more important than ever following the disruption and distress of the past two years, Ofsted has set out a strategy to continue its work to improve the lives of children and young people from 2022 to 2027.

An investigation into the causes and implications of exclusion for autistic children and young people, carried out by the University of Birmingham’s Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER), found that autistic pupils are twice as likely to be regularly and unlawfully excluded from school for a fixed term than those who do not have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a consultation regarding a proposal to bring schools in England with two consecutive Ofsted judgments below “Good” within the scope for intervention.

Amending the scope of operation of Section 42A of the Education Act 1997, which concerns the provision of careers guidance in schools in England, the Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Act 2022 was given Royal Assent on 1 April 2022.