School pays thousands to former pupil over handling of rape claim
According to the Guardian newspaper, a secondary school has agreed to pay tens of thousands of pounds in damages and legal costs over its handling of an allegation of rape made by one of its former pupils against her then classmate.
The girl, who was 16 at the time and studying for her GCSEs, sued the school after she was expected to carry on attending lessons with the boy she had accused of rape.
Four colleges set to strike over pay
The University and College Union has been balloting staff in colleges across the country since August on whether they want to take industrial action in a battle over pay. Results show that 85% of members in the 107 colleges that voted said they would strike. However, “restrictive” trade union laws mean that, except in Northern Ireland, only those institutions with a 50% turnout can act on the results.
Just four colleges – Bath College, Bradford College, New College Swindon and Petroc – met the required threshold for action.
How will educators fill the skills gap if free movement ends in March 2019?
The government has pledged to end free movement “once and for all”. Our immigration expert Ben Xu explains what this means for UK schools and colleges that rely on EU staff.
Government announces changes to the Apprenticeship Levy
The Chancellor, Philip Hammond has said that the government is going to make some changes to the controversial Apprenticeship Levy to make it more flexible and better suited to meeting the skills gap as follows:
- From April 2019, employers will be able to transfer a quarter of their annual apprenticeship levy fund to another business in their supply chain (since July employers have been able to transfer 10% to non-levy paying organisations
- The government will also invest an extra £5 million to help the Institute of Apprenticeships offer more training options to bridge some of the gaps
- The government also said there will be greater investment in apprenticeships in science, technology, engineering and maths, but no specific details are available yet.
Two-in-five newly qualified teachers experience mental health problems
According to a recent report, teachers with less experience in the profession are more likely to experience panic attacks, insomnia and mood swings than their colleagues. The majority (52%) of NQTs, and those in the profession under five years, have recently considered leaving due to health and wellbeing pressures.
£3,000 awarded to job applicant told he was "too old" to apply
A 63-year-old man who was told he was too old to apply for a job as a store person and van driver by Spring and Airbrake Ireland. Mr Matier told the hearing that he telephoned the company about the vacancy. He was asked his age and was subsequently told there was no point in applying because the organisation was looking for a younger person who could be trained and “moved upstairs”.
The Tribunal accepted that this conversation dissuaded Mr Matier from applying for the job and amounted to direct age discrimination.
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