Carillion collapse: MPs call for regional breakdown of impact on schools
Following the collapse of Carillion, MPs have asked for a regional breakdown of the likely impact on schools, colleges and apprenticeships.
According to the TES, Carillion provided caretaking and cleaning services to hundreds of schools, provided 32,000 school meals a day and had also sponsored an academy.
https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/carillion-collapse-mps-call-regional-breakdown-impact-schools
Mental health proposals could become a 'stick to beat teachers with’
The government’s green paper on mental health recommends that schools have an on-site mental health lead, responsible for developing a whole-school approach to wellbeing. MPs hearing evidence from a range of school and mental health experts about how to transform mental health provision for young people have expressed concerns that the proposals will introduce evaluation and accountability requirements will be used as a stick to beat teachers with.
https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/mental-health-could-become-a-stick-beat-teachers-and-eight-other
‘Urgent need’ for government to coordinate plans on science and tech skills
The National Audit Office (NAO) has said there is ‘an urgent need’ for the government departments to set out a shared view of what they are trying to achieve in efforts to improve the quality and take-up of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills before the government can demonstrate it is delivering value for money. The NAO believes ‘a more precise understanding of the challenge would allow the departments to better target and prioritise their efforts to deliver the STEM skills the economy needs’.
https://www.nao.org.uk/press-release/delivering-stem-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-skills-for-the-economy/
Chief Inspector of Ofsted official backs head teacher over hijab ban for under eights
Ofsted has waded into the row sparked when the head teacher of a primary school in London banned young girls from wearing the hijab. Its chief inspector has indicated that Ofsted will take a tough line on uniform policies and other restrictions that are being used to ‘actively pervert’ education and ‘indoctrinate impressionable minds’ in schools.
Under draft proposals, Ofsted may penalise schools found to have bowed to pressure over uniforms. Schools that fail to adequately consult or allow themselves to be swayed by a vocal minority of parents will be downgraded by Ofsted by having their leadership and management graded as inadequate.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/01/ofsted-chief-backs-headteacher-over-hijab-ban-for-under-eights
Disclosure and Barring Service updates identity checking guidelines
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has released new identity checking guidelines for standard and enhanced disclosure checks. The changes to the guidelines are in response to the DBS aligning the identity-checking process with right to work checks, which state that employers must root out illegal working in the UK by undergoing document checks on potential hires.
Although the new guidelines have been running in tandem with the previous guidelines since October 2017, the previous guidelines will be replaced and will cease to apply.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-identity-checking-guidelines
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