Conservative MPs have been accused of using a parliamentary filibuster to block proposals to make PSHE education compulsory in all state-funded schools. Currently, free schools and academies do not have to teach sex education or PSHE. Parents can withdraw their children from sex education classes. The government last month said it was ‘actively looking at options to ensure that all children have access to high-quality teaching of these subjects’. Read more
Incentives for schools to offer better careers advice will be reviewed and tougher Ofsted guidance considered as the government finally draws up its ‘comprehensive careers strategy’, a senior minister has revealed. The government will unveil plans for its comprehensive careers strategy – which was supposed to be released in the first few weeks of 2016 but is delayed until later this year – next week. Read more
The Department for Education has confirmed a teaching apprenticeship will be available to schools within the next two years. Jonathan Slater, the department’s permanent secretary, said it was important that teaching apprenticeship schemes are in place as soon as possible, while admitting that plans for a teacher apprenticeship route were still a ‘work in progress’ which should be ready by September 2018. Read more
The government is planning an international recruitment drive for specialist maths and physics teachers for the first time since the 1970s. It is tendering for a £300,000 contract to recruit teachers from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and the US. It comes as the Migration Advisory Committee recommended widening the number of subjects for which schools could recruit from non-EU countries. Read more