Teachers in England and Wales are burnt-out and barely functioning. Solving that will help young people and their families too

Tis the season to be jolly, unless you’re a teacher, in which case you are most likely a zombified wreck tenuously held together by caffeine and chocolate bars that aren’t even made of chocolate any more.

In the popular imagination, teachers finish at 4pm and have...

Apprentices split their time between training and working – and are paid by their employer.

About 350,000 new places to be offered to ‘neets’ with ‘sanctions’ levied for those who do not engage, says DWP

Young unemployed people will be offered training or job opportunities in construction, care and hospitality as part of a UK government scheme, but could have their benefits cut if they do not take up offers.

Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, announced on Sunday that...

Kishwer Falkner says Reform leader should apologise to people who say he targeted them at school, even if he rejects being deliberately racist

Nigel Farage should offer an unreserved apology to people who allege he targeted them with racist or antisemitic behaviour while at school, the outgoing head of the government’s equalities watchdog has said.

Kishwer Falkner, a crossbench peer who has...

AI research in question as author claims to have written over 100 papers on AI that one expert calls a ‘disaster’

A single person claims to have authored 113 academic papers on artificial intelligence this year, 89 of which will be presented this week at one of the world’s leading conference on AI and machine learning, which has raised questions among computer scientists about the state of AI...

Astrid Tuminez, Utah Valley University’s first female leader, had to pivot from personal tragedy to address ‘a wounding that happened to all of us’

Astrid Tuminez was on her way to Rome, the trip a kind of pilgrimage after months of grief. Her husband, Jeffrey Tolk, had died suddenly earlier in the year, and the loss had left her carrying a weight she couldn’t set down. “I felt darkness and...

Pupils from schools with differing demographics meet and play under charity scheme set up after city’s 2001 riots

Donate to the Guardian Charity Appeal 2025 here

Communities are our defence against hatred. Now, more than ever, we must invest in hope

On a bright wintry morning, Bradford’s majestic 19th-century city hall is alive with children’s laughter, chatter and songs. Sixty girls and...

James Graham’s play Punch touches on gang culture, restorative justice and masculinity in crisis, and for the playwright the true story was a privilege to tell

When thousands of schoolchildren came to see James Graham’s play Punch in the West End, the playwright, actors and producers were struck by one thing. Despite fears about social media eroding attention spans, the pupils were engrossed...

‘For every three children wanted… only two are born,’ says one expert. So, what has led to this gap?

The child poverty strategy also includes making childcare more accessible for families on Universal Credit.

DfE figures showed an 11% increase in teacher trainees in England this year compared with 2024, the biggest rise after the pandemic

A surge in the number of recent graduates signing up to become teachers has helped the government in England meet crucial recruitment targets in subjects including maths and sciences for the first time this decade.

New figures from the Department for Education...

University is already being investigated by police over ‘allegations of financial irregularities’ and has suspended three of its senior staff

The University of Greater Manchester is being investigated by England’s higher education regulator amid mounting allegations of financial misconduct, bribery and bullying.

The Office for Students will examine whether the former University of Bolton had...

Legislation is needed to stop leftwing politicians ‘bringing drag queens and porn actors into schools’, minister says

A restrictive sex education bill backed by Georgia Meloni’s far-right government and intended to crack down on “gender ideology and the woke bubble” has provoked fury in Italy.

Italy is one of the few EU countries not to have compulsory sex education in schools despite evidence...

More than 200 pupils of Nazareth House primary school in Derry are at home for a second day because of concerns over the building’s roof.

The council says repurposing an old school will “create urgently needed places locally”.

England’s teacher shortage is fuelled by burnout and unpaid overtime. New working patterns would help without compromising results

Can you guess which professionals in England work 26 hours of overtime a week without compensation, give up time with friends and family to deal with the workload and often find themselves on call in the holidays? Not CEOs, bankers or even doctors, but teachers. No...

When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and the rise of Donald Trump

It takes balls to title your book Notes on Being a Man. And, superficially, Scott Galloway could easily be lumped in with a dozen other manosphere-friendly alpha-bros...

Among them is Carlingford West public school in NSW, where 96% of students speak a language other than English. Teachers say diversity helps the school thrive

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

When Ziyan Lin arrived at Carlingford West public school to start year 5 this year, her school wasn’t the only thing that was new. She and her family had just migrated from...

The Children’s Homes Association says there is no clear national plan and government must ‘fix the system’.

The use of ‘nudify’ apps is becoming more and more prevalent, with hundreds of teachers having seen images created by pupils, often of their peers. The fallout is huge – and growing fast

‘It worries me that it’s so normalised. He obviously wasn’t hiding it. He didn’t feel this was something he shouldn’t be doing. It was in the open and people saw it. That’s what was quite shocking.”

A...

Campaigners are urging the government to allow schools to pilot shorter working weeks and we’d like to hear views of teachers and parents in England

There is a recruitment and retention crisis in England’s schools. Teachers are quitting the profession in droves, complaining of worsening pupil behaviour, stagnant pay and inflexible working practices. Vacancies are often difficult to fill.

To...