
My weekly juggling act – being a teacher to other children and a mum to my own
Many teachers say they struggle to balance the pressures of their job with the demands of being a parent.
TUESDAY, 19 MAY 2026, 06:00

Many teachers say they struggle to balance the pressures of their job with the demands of being a parent.

Though welcomed by chefs and campaigners, many schools say the government’s plan to remove ‘grab and go’ options from the menu is a step too far
It is lunchtime at Richard Challoner school, a Catholic comprehensive for boys in New Malden, south-west London. The familiar smell of school lunch is beginning to waft around the corridors.
In the canteen, there is a moment of calm as the kitchen team...

Capital’s schools hardest hit in England and Wales by rising housing costs and falling birthrate, with further falls predicted in coming years
Schools in London continue to be hardest hit by housing costs and the falling birthrate. Further closures and mergers of primary schools are expected after a sharp fall in the number of children entering reception classes in the capital.
London’s...

The skewed perspectives in my A-level curriculum are staggering. Until that changes, harmful ideas about race and migration will live on
Astrid Barltrop is the winner of the 2026 Emerging Voices award (16-18 category) and a year 13 student in Oxfordshire
“Lord Cromer was a successful consul-general of Egypt. To what extent do you agree?” I read this essay prompt in my A-level history class,...

It comes as the government continues to consult on whether to ban under-16s from social media in the UK.

Teachers say more children are starting school without skills like basic communication and potty training.

University support staff have gone on strike in a dispute about pay.

About 22,000 students in England were told they were given loans by mistake and must immediately pay the money back.

Rising demand from children with special needs means the £140m required could come from government grants
Councils in England need to hire 1,400 more educational psychologists at a cost of £140m to meet demand from children with special needs such as autism, according to a new report.
Research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found huge regional variations and chronic shortages in...

It is not clear which areas of the university, which has campuses in Belfast, Londonderry and Coleraine as well as a campus in Qatar, will be affected.

Coventry University reported Navodya De Silva, 25, to Home Office after £8,000 arrived late, causing termination of visa
A Sri Lankan university student says her life has been ruined because a one-day delay in paying her tuition fees led to her being thrown off her degree course and at risk of deportation.
Navodya De Silva, 25, secured a place at Coventry University to study international...

We would like to hear parents’ views on their children’s school meals
The government is to announce an overhaul to school food standards in England that will lead to dishes such as fish and chips and steamed sponges being banned. The new rules, which are part of efforts to lower the rates of childhood obesity, will apply from September.
We would like to hear parents’ views on their...

Often referred to as the “dyslexia of numbers”, dyscalculia is thought to affect one in 20 people.

Massachusetts liberal arts college laments ‘heartbreaking reality’ and says financial pressures to blame
A Massachusetts liberal arts college is set to close permanently due to low enrollment and financial problems.
The board of trustees of Hampshire College, a small liberal arts school in Amherst founded in 1965, pointed to “financial pressures” that have been “compounded by shifting...

Disadvantaged girls are overlooked in efforts to tackle underachievement, education leaders say.

Chancellor ‘frustrated and angry’ at the effect on UK firms and families and says US went into war without a clear exit plan
Q: Why are you calling for an inquiry into Nigel Farage’s investment in a bitcoin firm?
Davey said that, in investing in crypto, Farage, the Reform UK leader, seemed to be copying Donald Trump. He said he thought MPs should be banned from promoting financial services or...

Schools across Wales say phone bans improve behaviour but can mean conflict with pupils and parents.

The government hails the ‘green revolution’ as a solution to economic decline, but some young jobseekers say the rhetoric does not match their experience
On paper, Jake Snell, 19, sounds like the perfect candidate for a role in the UK’s burgeoning green energy sector. He has high grades in maths and physics A-level, a distinction in BTec engineering and another distinction in an extended...

The three are among 19 across the UK to use to cash to offer digital and technologies training.

The money will part-fund signal-blocking pouches for about 900 pupils aged 11 to 16.

Fire service officers attended the incident in Dumbarton last week as pupils are warned about the “chromebook challenge”.