
Government rejects fine-free school absences bid
Natalie Elliot wants changes to the rules but a minister says the UK is facing an “absence epidemic”.
THURSDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2025, 11:52

Natalie Elliot wants changes to the rules but a minister says the UK is facing an “absence epidemic”.

Sam Coton, from Evesham, runs workshops in schools to help pupils cope with modern life pressures.

Education secretary promises ‘clear timelines’ are in place to permanently remove crumbling concrete
All schools in England that received grant funding to pay for the removal of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) should be free of it by the end of this parliament, the education secretary has pledged.
Setting out a new timeline for dealing with the crumbling concrete crisis in...

Najiba Noori’s thought-provoking documentary follows her mother, finally getting her chance at autonomy just as the Taliban retake the country
Shot in Afghanistan shortly before the 2021 Taliban takeover, Najiba Noori’s thought-provoking debut juxtaposes the private transformation of a woman with the public unravelling of the nation. At age 13, Noori’s mother, Hawa, was married off to a...

Natalie Elliott’s online petition over school absence fines will be debated by MPs.

It is architect David Adjaye’s first major project since the allegations that rocked his firm – a bold museum for Princeton University with exhibits that sneak up on its students. But do the insides match the outsides?
A cluster of serrated concrete bunkers has landed in the heart of Princeton University’s leafy campus in New Jersey, sending tremors through this twee Oxbridge fantasyland of...

Lawsuit against Kamehameha schools by Students for Fair Admissions, a neoconservative non-profit, alleges discrimination against non-Hawaiians
Advocates for a private school system established to educate Native Hawaiians say a new lawsuit targeting the admissions process is an ugly attempt to ignore the wishes of a Hawaiian princess who bequeathed her inheritance to secure a brighter future for...

Speaking during ADHD awareness month, Ms Harris says getting a diagnosis was a revelation for her.

A panel found Benjamin Hiscox posed a risk to children and had damaged confidence in the profession.

Children across the UK have been shouting out ‘six-seven’ during lessons, so how are teachers reacting?
Across the UK, school pupils have been shouting out the words “sixseven” during lessons in the latest meme-based craze to sweep across classrooms.
While some teachers have chosen to stoically ignore the trend, others have embraced it. Five teachers explain how they’re coping.
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One man says he wishes he had never traced his family tree after he made a shocking discovery.

Inglewood’s program had been chain-sawed by financial challenges and the pandemic, but Joseph Jauregui built it back up – and his students are winning scholarships
Joan Rosas says educators as early as kindergarten flat-out told him he wasn’t capable. “I got horrible grades,” he said. “I could barely read until eighth grade when I figured out how to teach myself.”
The Inglewood high school...

We want to hear from UK parents with experience in temporary accommodation about the impact on their lives, family and schooling
More than 172,000 children were living in temporary accommodation in England at the end of June, according to new quarterly official figures released last week.
That represented an 8.2% rise on the same period last year. There are now more than 130,000 households...

Podcasters, professors, journalists and ordinary citizens will gather in Washington as the Trump regime wages war on history
On 26 October, podcasters, professors, journalists and ordinary citizens will gather on the steps of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History for a teach-in in defense of history and museums.
The teach-in comes at a moment when the Smithsonian system faces...

Joshua’s mum argues her son would have passed the Kent Test if KCC had given him more time.

Sir Keir Starmer urges the school trust to “match the positivity and the courage” of Millie, 12.

Four out of five secondary school teachers surveyed say they have heard perplexing viral phrase called out
Teachers call it “the most brain dead meme” but six-seven slang has invaded classrooms across the UK, with students even painting the numbers on their faces and leaving staff perplexed.
A survey of 10,000 teachers found that four out of five secondary school teachers had heard the viral...

The phrase has gone viral in the UK and the US among young people and we’d like to hear what teachers are making of it
Across the UK, teachers are being subjected to the echoes of the words “six-seven” shouted out at random by pupils in a new craze sweeping through classrooms.
The phrase appears to have originated with the Philadelphia rapper Skrilla’s 2024 track Doot Doot (6 7), which is...

Tamsin says a scheme from her Droitwich school helped her boost her post-pandemic attendance.

The levy will pay for maintenance grants, but North East universities say there will be challenges.

Parents say use of isolation room damages mental health and children’s learning
One in 12 secondary pupils put in isolation rooms at least once a week, study finds
Max was 11 and had just started his new secondary school when he was first put into isolation. He had asked to use the toilet between lessons, which was not ordinarily allowed, and was told to go quickly.
“He knew he wasn’t...