5 December, 2025

Top education news stories

Explore this week’s news roundup to uncover the key challenges and priorities for schools across the country.

6 min read

1. Ofsted annual report 2024/25

Ofsted says too many pupils are ‘out of step with expectations of school life’, writes Schools Week.

Last week, ofsted released its annual report with findings for the areas the watchdog inspects in early years childcare, schools, further education and skills and children’s social care.

Too many children are “falling out of step with the expectations of school life” through absence, making them “more likely to cross boundaries, challenge teachers” and disrupt learning, the head of Ofsted has warned.

Sir Martyn Oliver also said he was concerned by commentary from education professionals “describing the impact of behaviour and the part it plays in driving too many teachers out of the profession”.

In Ofsted’s annual report, Oliver also said social media and smartphones were partly responsible for disruptive behaviour.

Oliver also told a press briefing last week, “we’re starting to see green shoots” of recovery when it comes to attendance, with primary “getting close back to pre-pandemic levels of attendance, secondaries recovering quickly”.

“But hidden within that is the absolute scandal of severe absence…166,000 pupils are severely absent. That is a real issue. On top of that…children missing education has risen by 19% – or a fifth – in one year.

Furthermore, Oliver warned that vulnerable and disadvantaged children are “over-represented in the ranks of the severely absent”. He said that under the new framework, he would like to “strike a better balance between evaluating the policies and processes of the school and understanding the realities on the ground for pupils and teachers.

Source: Ofsted: Too many pupils ‘out of step with expectations of school life’ (schoolsweek.co.uk)

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2. SEND: Gould to hear public’s view on national support framework

Schools minister Georgia Gould will hold a series of face-to-face public events about DfE’s planned reforms, writes Tes.

Schools minister Georgia Gould will hear the public’s views on proposals to create a national framework for support available to pupils with SEND at a series of events aimed at shaping the government’s reform plans.

The DfE has announced that regional and online events will be held from (starting last week), which it said would put “parents’ experiences at the heart of SEND reform”.

The department will seek public views on a range of proposals put forward by think tanks and experts.

This includes providing a national framework for support available to children with SEND across all settings, children having written records of support and giving families access to independent advocacy. But these are not official proposals being put forward by the government.

Ms Gould will host nine face-to-face events, run with the Council for Disabled Children, and five online events covering the department’s “five principles of reform”.

The engagement events are said to be based around five themes: early intervention, local provision, fairness, effective practice, and shared working.

Ms Gould said: “For too long, families have felt unheard and left to battle a system that simply doesn’t deliver for their children. We’re committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for children with SEND, which is why we’re putting lived experience at the heart of our reforms and creating a direct line to parents across the nation.

We want this to be the biggest national conversation on SEND in a generation, and I urge parents, teachers and all those with views to participate and help us deliver lasting reform.”

Source: SEND: Gould to hear public’s view on national support framework (Tes.com)

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3. Lowered secondary teacher recruitment target is still missed

Government data shows that while primary has exceeded its goal for postgraduate teacher recruitment, secondary is still below the target, writes Tes.

A new lower target for primary teacher training recruitment has been exceeded by 26 per cent, but secondary still misses its goal, according to the latest government data.

The initial teacher training (ITT) census for 2025/26 comes after the government reduced its official target for recruiting postgraduates into ITT earlier this year.

The number of overall recruits has increased by 11%, up from 26,920 in 2025/26 to 33,355 in 2024/25. While primary has exceeded its target, secondary teacher training recruitment numbers remain 12% away from its goal.

Postgraduate initial teacher training (PGITT) targets were missed in 10 out of 18 secondary subjects: business studies, classics, computing, design and technology, drama, modern foreign languages, music, physics, religious education and “other”.

When comparing this year to last, the number of secondary recruits has increased from 15,255 in 2024/25 to 16,975 in 2025/26, an 11% increase.

Secondary reached 88% of the revised target (19,270 entrants), compared with 61% of the target last year.

Sources: Lowered secondary teacher recruitment target is still missed (Tes.com)

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