
Teacher uses 40-year-old law to withdraw from teaching religion
Javed Love is understood to be the first teacher in Northern Ireland in at least a decade to take the action.
TUESDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2026, 18:29

Javed Love is understood to be the first teacher in Northern Ireland in at least a decade to take the action.

In today’s newsletter: Rising living costs, shrinking early years services and soaring screen use are reshaping what teachers encounter on the first day of school, with consequences felt across the system
Good morning. Teaching four- and five-year-olds has always involved patience, care and flexibility. What many reception teachers say they did not sign up for was spending large chunks of the...

Both the health and education departments have proposed cuts to funding for physical education
A major row between government departments has broken out after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) proposed cutting all its funding for physical education in schools, the Guardian understands.
The DHSC is now intending to restore the funding despite insisting privately for weeks that it...

Mark Billings hopes to inspire his pupils, and even beat Giant in a new challenge on the BBC show.

Jacob Collier, speaking at the launch of BBC Get Singing, says music “embeds confidence” in young people.

Author says pace of change in GCSE English literature texts is too slow and tide is turning against inclusion
The Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo has called for renewed efforts to diversify the school curriculum in England, warning that young people are growing up in a society where “doors are closing” and the tide is turning against inclusion.
There has been progress in the...

Respondents to King’s Trust survey cited AI and a lack of work experience as reasons they might fail in life
More than seven in 10 teens and young adults in the UK say they wish they were not starting their careers in the current economic climate, according to new research from the King’s Trust.
The study also found that more than a quarter of people aged 16 to 25 feel they are going to fail in...

The government says it has commissioned a review into “what’s holding the younger generation back”.

Bridget Phillipson says pupils should not use mobiles at any point, as Ofsted prepares to inspect compliance
Schools should be phone-free throughout the entire day, the education secretary has told headteachers in England, stressing that pupils should not use the devices even as calculators or for research.
Bridget Phillipson wrote to schools to underline updated guidance issued by the...

The education secretary says phones should not been seen during lessons, breaktimes or lunchtime.

Freelands Foundation will give £100,000 to three projects every year ‘against the backdrop of 15 years of cuts’
A new £1.5m awards scheme has been launched to recognise and celebrate visual art education in the UK – with £100,000 being awarded to three organisations a year for the next five years.
The Freelands Foundation announced the award on Monday for recent or ongoing projects...

It aims to help staff better support pupils who observe the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Sofia Demkiv says she is “truly proud” of her achievement after what she has been through.

Inquiry finds class should become protected characteristic and calls for rise in number of apprenticeships
An inquiry into class representation in creative fields has recommended changes believed to be the first of their kind in Greater Manchester to increase the number of working-class people in the arts.
Class Ceiling, a report led by Nazir Afzal, the chancellor of the University of...

The course is the only one of its kind and it is designed to provide specialised kidney care.

Parents are concerned about where the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership Is spending its money.

The school in the Cotswolds will close this summer due to falling pupil numbers.

In New Haven, where one in six residents is foreign born, children’s education suffers as they are afraid to step out
“They took her, they took her, they took her.”
Those were some of the words Cora Muñoz, the Wilbur Cross high school assistant principal, could discern while on the phone with the guardian of one of her students. As the caller sobbed and struggled to speak, Muñoz realized that...

Millions of graduates are trapped by ballooning debts, as their repayments are dwarfed by the interest added
Helen Lambert borrowed £57,000 to go to university and began repaying her student loan in 2021 after starting work as an NHS nurse.
Since then she has repaid more than £5,000, typically having about £145 a month taken from her pay packet. But everything she hands over is dwarfed by the...

Growing concerns about the impact of smartphones on the youngest children must be addressed
The first UK government guidance on young children’s use of tablets, smartphones and other screens, expected in April, cannot come soon enough. The laissez-faire approach to the boom in social media, handheld devices and other digital technology was arguably nowhere less suitable than when such...

Nicky Perfect shares three practical tricks she learnt which will help you handle daily parenting battles.