Teaching children how to deal with pornography and sexting should be an integral part of sex education, according to the majority of British adults. A survey found that 75% of those who responded believe that teachers should address the harmful impact of pornography that is easily accessible online, as well as the trend for sending indecent images and explicit messages via text – which has now become ‘the norm’ in schools. Read more
Poorer pupils are increasingly making less progress at secondary school in England compared with their more affluent peers, a study says. The Social Mobility Commission said poorer pupils were often overtaken by their better-off peers even if they had outperformed them at primary school. The gap, which was most apparent in poor white children, has widened every year since 2012. Read more
Some parents are lobbying for a special needs diagnosis for their child while genuine sufferers are losing out, according to teachers polled by YouGov. Educators are warning that middle-class parents who know how to work the system are getting diagnoses for their children, while other children are slipping through the net. More than half of teachers polled said there was misdiagnosis among pupils. Read more
Teachers are working an average of 54.4 hours a week – nearly 11 hours per day – the government’s first comprehensive survey into workload has revealed. Primary classroom teachers and middle leaders work an average of over 55 hours, with secondary school teachers working more than 53 hours a week, the government’s long-awaited Teacher Workload Survey found. Read more