Latest news with #NAHT
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Number of kids registered for free childcare soars - as more parents to benefit
Some 457,000 children aged nine months to two years were registered for a childcare place thanks to the expansion of 15 hours free childcare in September last year Around half a million more children under five were registered for a funded childcare place in the last year compared to the 12 months before. A record 1.7 million children under five were registered – a 33% increase - following a major expansion of free provision. Some 457,000 children aged nine months to two years registered for a place thanks to the expansion of 15 hours free childcare in September. Previously only three and four-year-olds were eligible. Data also shows 18,200 more staff members were delivering free childcare this January, compared to the same time this year. The total rose to 272,500 after a 7.2% increase - the largest annual rise since the data series began. From September, all eligible families with children aged nine months to three years will be able to access 30 hours a week. These hours can be used over 38 weeks of the year during school term time, or up to 52 weeks if fewer hours are used each week. Parents who want to get 30 hours from this September must apply by August 31. A couple's combined annual salary must be less than £100,000 for them to be eligible. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'It is extremely positive that more families now have the choice of accessing funded early education and childcare and are benefitting from this.' But he added: "We know from a school and provider perspective, funding levels remain incredibly tight, and we urge government to keep this under constant review. When it comes to early education, quality matters." The National Education Union (NEU) urged for more support to be given to Maintained Nursery Schools, which it said provide high quality early education especially for disadvantaged families and children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND). Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said: "Given that high quality early education and care is essential to improving children's life chances, it is not a surprise that demand for funded hours are now at record levels since entitlements were expanded. "The government should be building up high quality public provision with Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) front and centre. MNS provide the highest quality of early education, especially for disadvantaged families and children with SEND. Funding pressures make their future uncertain. The government must act now to protect and expand MNS and consider how they can support the delivery of funded hours." Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'It is brilliant to see our reforms to early education delivering for so many families, with tens of thousands more funded places and staff compared with stagnating numbers just last year, and more parents than ever accessing government funded childcare. 'We are setting up even more parents to benefit from September's expansion to 30 funded hours, saving them up to £7,500 per year, alongside our investment in free breakfast clubs and school based nurseries to give parents more choice and slash costs.'
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Pupil numbers in schools expected to drop by nearly 400,000 over five years
The number of pupils in state schools in England is expected to decline by nearly 400,000 by 2030 amid falling birth rates, Government figures suggest. The population attending primary and nursery schools is expected to drop at a 'faster rate' than previously projected over the next five years, according to the Department for Education (DfE). It comes as primary schools in parts of England, including London, have been considering closing due to falling pupil numbers and funding pressures. The latest DfE projections, published on Thursday, suggest that 4,205,117 pupils will be in state nursery and primary schools by 2030 – a fall of 300,000 from the population in 2025. Meanwhile, 3,135,086 pupils are projected to be in state secondary schools in 2030 – which is 97,000 lower than the actual school population in 2025. A population bulge in England has been moving into secondary schools, but the DfE said it now expects these pupil numbers to peak in 2026/2027. Last month, a former education secretary called for school funding to no longer be judged on a per-pupil basis because of falling pupil numbers. Conservative MP Damian Hinds said the decline in the number of children in schools meant funding being measured on a per-pupil basis was no longer a good reflection of whether funding is increasing or decreasing. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Falling rolls can create a real headache for schools already struggling amid severe financial pressures because the majority of funding is calculated on a per-pupil basis. 'It will be vital that the Department for Education protects schools that are particularly affected by this as it has a disproportionate impact on budgets, particularly for small schools. 'There are always significant variations between different parts of the country, individual schools and even year groups and other recent data forecast the number of school places planned for 2026/27 will need to double to meet demand. 'Trends can also change over time. Rather than reducing funding, we would urge the Government to continue to invest in schools, allowing them to maintain existing staffing levels. 'This would help reduce the unsustainable levels of workload which are fuelling a recruitment and retention crisis, also enabling some schools to offer smaller classes and more targeted help for pupils who need it.' Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: 'The forecast that there will be almost 400,000 fewer pupils in schools by 2030 will understandably cause concern among parents and educators about implications for their schools. 'However, it is not a given that falling pupil numbers means widespread school closures.' He added: 'Using falling rolls to reduce class sizes would improve schools for pupils and staff, helping reduce workload and improve teacher retention, allowing more contact time with each pupil to improve educational outcomes and allowing for greater integration of pupils with Send into mainstream classrooms. 'Schools with 30 pupils per class cost the same amount to run as schools with fewer per class, but the current funding model allocates money to schools on a per-pupil basis, leaving those with smaller classes out of pocket. 'To take advantage of the slowing birthrate and improved outcomes, the Government must protect schools with falling rolls from funding shortfalls and avoid schools in this situation making cuts that harm educational provision.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pupil numbers in schools expected to drop by nearly 400,000 over five years
The number of pupils in state schools in England is expected to decline by nearly 400,000 by 2030 amid falling birth rates, Government figures suggest. The population attending primary and nursery schools is expected to drop at a 'faster rate' than previously projected over the next five years, according to the Department for Education (DfE). It comes as primary schools in parts of England, including London, have been considering closing due to falling pupil numbers and funding pressures. The latest DfE projections, published on Thursday, suggest that 4,205,117 pupils will be in state nursery and primary schools by 2030 – a fall of 300,000 from the population in 2025. Meanwhile, 3,135,086 pupils are projected to be in state secondary schools in 2030 – which is 97,000 lower than the actual school population in 2025. A population bulge in England has been moving into secondary schools, but the DfE said it now expects these pupil numbers to peak in 2026/2027. Last month, a former education secretary called for school funding to no longer be judged on a per-pupil basis because of falling pupil numbers. Conservative MP Damian Hinds said the decline in the number of children in schools meant funding being measured on a per-pupil basis was no longer a good reflection of whether funding is increasing or decreasing. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Falling rolls can create a real headache for schools already struggling amid severe financial pressures because the majority of funding is calculated on a per-pupil basis. 'It will be vital that the Department for Education protects schools that are particularly affected by this as it has a disproportionate impact on budgets, particularly for small schools. 'There are always significant variations between different parts of the country, individual schools and even year groups and other recent data forecast the number of school places planned for 2026/27 will need to double to meet demand. 'Trends can also change over time. Rather than reducing funding, we would urge the Government to continue to invest in schools, allowing them to maintain existing staffing levels. 'This would help reduce the unsustainable levels of workload which are fuelling a recruitment and retention crisis, also enabling some schools to offer smaller classes and more targeted help for pupils who need it.' Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: 'The forecast that there will be almost 400,000 fewer pupils in schools by 2030 will understandably cause concern among parents and educators about implications for their schools. 'However, it is not a given that falling pupil numbers means widespread school closures.' He added: 'Using falling rolls to reduce class sizes would improve schools for pupils and staff, helping reduce workload and improve teacher retention, allowing more contact time with each pupil to improve educational outcomes and allowing for greater integration of pupils with Send into mainstream classrooms. 'Schools with 30 pupils per class cost the same amount to run as schools with fewer per class, but the current funding model allocates money to schools on a per-pupil basis, leaving those with smaller classes out of pocket. 'To take advantage of the slowing birthrate and improved outcomes, the Government must protect schools with falling rolls from funding shortfalls and avoid schools in this situation making cuts that harm educational provision.'
BBC News
10-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
School suspensions and exclusions rise to nearly a million in England
The number of school suspensions and exclusions in England has reached its highest level since 2006, Department for Education figures were 954,952 suspensions in state schools in 2023/24 - a 21% increase on the previous year - while exclusions also rose 16% to 10,885. While secondary school pupils comprised most suspensions, more than 100,000 were primary age - a number that has grown significantly.A suspended pupil must stay out of school for a fixed period of up to 45 days per school year, while those excluded are permanently removed. Individual pupils often account for more than one period of government says it is tackling the root causes of poor behaviour and is intensively supporting 500 schools with the worst behaviour. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason pupils were sent home, accounting for half of all suspensions and 39% half of the suspensions were among pupils getting support for special educational needs - who were three times more likely to be suspended than their classmates. Children on free school meals were also overrepresented, making up a quarter of the school population but 60% of Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said schools alone could not address the causes of poor behaviour. "Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted," he said."The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health."The vast majority of suspensions - nine in 10 - occurred at secondary schools, with Year 9 having the highest rate. But primary-age suspensions rose too, up 24% on the previous vast majority (88%) of pupils who were excluded at primary school were getting support for special educational needs, compared with 46% of excluded secondary school pupils. Research from charity Chance UK, which supports families of excluded children in London, suggests that 90% of children who are excluded at primary school fail to pass GCSE English and Schmal, the charity's director, said Thursday's figures revealed a "very concerning picture" - particularly the rise in primary school suspensions. "Early intervention has to mean early. We can't wait until these children are teenagers to tackle this." Sarah - not her real name - is a mum of one in London. Her six-year-old son was suspended several times within his first few weeks at primary school for hitting other pupils and throwing things in said that even after school staff agreed that her son showed signs of autism, he continued to be sent out of class regularly and suspended, which made him feel "isolated". "Since he was three years old, my son has been labelled as the naughty and difficult kid when all he really needed was help," she said."I sought help as soon as I recognised that he needed additional support. But rather than helping me immediately, they waited until it was an emergency."Sarah eventually managed to move her son to a different mainstream school where he is getting more support, she to the figures, early education minister Stephen Morgan said the Labour government had "wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour", including offering mental health support in every school and expanding free school pointed to its new attendance and behaviour hubs, which will directly support the 500 schools that "need the most help"."We're also continuing to listen to parents as we reform the SEND system, while already putting in place better and earlier support for speech and language needs, ADHD and autism," Morgan added.
Glasgow Times
10-07-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
School suspensions and exclusions in England reach record high
There were 954,952 suspensions in the 2023/24 academic year, compared with 786,961 in 2022/23 – an increase of more than a fifth (21%) in a year. There were 10,885 permanent exclusions in 2023/24, compared with 9,376 the year before – a rise of 16%, according to the Department for Education (DfE) data. The rise comes amid warnings of challenging behaviour in classrooms following the Covid-19 pandemic. Suspensions – which are when a pupil is excluded from a school for a set period of time – in primary schools rose by nearly a quarter in a year. Figures released on Thursday show that suspensions for pupils in state primary schools rose by 24%, from 84,264 in 2022/23 to 104,803 in 2023/24. Meanwhile, suspensions for secondary school pupils rose by 21% in a year, from 685,930 to 829,896. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for sanctions, accounting for 51% of all reasons given for suspension and 39% for exclusion. Suspensions and exclusions peaked in the 2023/24 autumn term, where there were 346,279 suspensions and 4,168 permanent exclusions in a single term. The number of suspensions and exclusions in England is the highest since at least 2016/17, when the latest DfE data begins. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted. 'The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health. 'Schools work tirelessly to support pupils, but they alone cannot address the causes and symptoms of poor behaviour. 'They need back-up in the shape of additional investment in vital services like social care, children's mental health, behaviour support teams, and special educational needs provision, which have been reduced or failed to keep up with demand over the last decade.' Sophie Schmal, director of Chance UK charity, said: 'The latest figures released today reveal a shocking picture, particularly for some of our youngest and most vulnerable children. 'When you have children as young as five and six years old being permanently excluded from school, then clearly something is going very wrong. 'Every day, we see children and families being let down by a system that is failing to support them early enough.'
