[ad_1] Getty ImagesJess Phillips said there was "no easy way" to raise more money for public servicesRaising the National Insurance (NI) rate for employers will impact the cost of childcare, Home Office minister Jess Phillips has said.The Birmingham Yardley MP told BBC Politics Midlands funding shortfalls in nurseries had fallen on parents since her own children went nearly 20 years ago.Asked if the rise in employers’ contributions would make that
[ad_1] Durham County CouncilVery few households chose to opt out of the scheme, the council saidThe automatic enrolment of children for free school meals should become a standard practice, a councillor has said following a successful trial.The scheme, run by Fix Our Food research programme and councils, identified previously unregistered, eligible children and signed them up automatically.As a result, 2,500 more children across County Durham have started receiving a free
[ad_1] PA MediaSchool leaders told Ofsted a lack of places for SEND children is pushing them to "crisis point"A government regulator has found "widespread and systemic failings" around the outcomes of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) across Derbyshire. In a new report published by Ofsted, inspectors said children "wait too long" for their needs to be assessed which has led to some "missing large amounts of their
[ad_1] BBCActress Nkechi Simms once attended Pupil Referral Units "I often felt really misunderstood and struggled to handle my emotions - I was very angry," actress Nkechi Simms tells a group of young people at a north London Pupil Referral Unit (PRU).She is part of a mentorship scheme aimed at supporting young people in PRUs across the capital.It has received a boost of £2.3m from the London mayor's Violence Reduction
[ad_1] BRANWEN JEFFREYS/BBCTuition fees for undergraduate degrees in England will rise in autumn 2025Almost three quarters of universities in England will face financial problems next year - despite tuition fees increasing, the BBC has been told.A report to be published on Friday - seen by the BBC - reveals how financial issues faced by most universities are even worse than previously thought. The Office for Students (OfS) predicts more than
[ad_1] Dundee University has told staff that job losses are "inevitable" as it faces a potential deficit of £30m in the next financial year.In an all-staff email, the university's principal, Prof Iain Gillespie, said it was planning for "a significant deficit" in the wake of "an extremely challenging period" for the UK higher education sector.He said despite a recruitment freeze and reducing operational expenditure, the university was still looking at
[ad_1] A secondary school has been forced to close due to an "external IT failure".Budehaven Community School in Bude, Cornwall said it had "experienced a complete breakdown of our internet, registration and telephone services" and was "unable to safeguard our pupils" until the system was fixed by its external provider.The secondary school and sixth form said it would be working with its provider to try and solve the problem, but
[ad_1] Sarah/BBCSarah feels she had no choice but to home educate her daughter, DaisyThe children’s commissioner for England believes some families are being "forced" to educate their children at home after a BBC investigation found the number making the switch has doubled in five years.UK councils received more than 66,000 notifications of children being moved to home education in 2023-2024 - up from 28,000 in 2019-2020, figures from freedom of
[ad_1] Two secondary schools could take on 600 extra pupils between them after plans to build a new school became too expensive.More places are needed as the Ipswich Garden Suburb development, which could comprise 3,500 new homes, is built.Suffolk County Council said building a new school in north-east Ipswich was likely to cost over £30m.Northgate High School and Ormiston Endeavour Academy, previously Thurleston High School, are in negotiations with the
[ad_1] BBCOlivia Gallosi and Ronni Sharp said they had come across discriminationEdinburgh University has warned students from privileged backgrounds not to be "snobs" towards their peers from Scottish and working-class backgrounds.The institution admitted class-related prejudice was a problem on campus.It said individuals from less well-off backgrounds were being "inadvertently or deliberately shamed by more privileged students".The guidance was issued after the newly-formed Scottish Social Mobility Society complained lecturers and students
