The share of children receiving SEND support has nearly doubled in a decade, with spending set to reach £21 billion by 2029, according to an IFS report. Some numbers from the report: One-in-twenty (5.2 per cent) pupils aged under 16 in England have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This share has almost doubled…
The Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, captured the headlines recently when she spoke about ‘white working-class children’. She warned that four-fifths of children from white working-class backgrounds were falling short in the English and maths skills required to get on in life. However, this headline-grabbing warning is slightly misleading because she is referring only to white…
Working class Tory MP Lee Anderson caused a storm after saying that many people who use foodbanks can’t budget or cook properly. At the foodbank he works at in his Ashfield constituency, those seeking help have to sign up to budgeting and cookery lessons. The cost-of-living crisis has focused attention on these issues and for…
There have been many changes in the educational system since the late 1950s and early 60s, including a big move to a more progressive approach. This threw aside most of the traditional teaching methods in literacy and numeracy. Literacy focused less on grammar, syntax and good spelling – the structural elements of language – in…
The longer children are not in school, the more they will suffer through their educational journey and beyond into the workplace. The government was correct to identify that children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 are being particularly hit by the school closures. Reception and Year 1 children are learning basic numeracy and literacy…