Education

Staff ‘demoralised’ over Northumbria University course cuts

[ad_1] The closure of two undergraduate courses at a university is "demoralising" to staff, a union has said.Northumbria University said it had proposed cutting two joint degrees from next September - business with Spanish, and business with French.University and College Union (UCU) official Jon Bryan said the move flew in the face of "commitments" made by the university's head a few weeks ago about "no planned programme closures".The university said
Education

Edinburgh University warns staff to expect job cuts

[ad_1] Edinburgh University has warned staff it expects to make job cuts in response to “unsustainable” funding.In a message to staff, principal and vice-chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson said the institution was struggling to meet its £120m-per-month running costs after a fall in student numbers and the UK government’s National Insurance rise.Sir Peter said compulsory redundancies could be enforced if “unavoidable” after a period of “selective voluntary” job losses.It comes after
Education

Dyslexia shouldn’t hold you back, says Paddington writer

[ad_1] Getty ImagesJames Lamont (left, standing with his Paddington co-writers Jon Foster and Mark Burton) said dyslexia did not hold him back from a writing careerDyslexia should not hold you back, the co-screenwriter of the latest Paddington film has said.James Lamont, who co-wrote Paddington In Peru, the newly-released third film in the franchise, has dyslexia and said with the right support, children with the learning difficulty could achieve whatever they
Education

National Insurance rise will impact nursery costs

[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
Education

County Durham free school meals auto-enrolment ‘way forward’

[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
Education

‘Families in crisis’ as Ofsted criticises Derbyshire’s SEND provision

[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
Education

‘Mentoring is a really good way to engage excluded pupils’

[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
Education

University cash crisis will get worse despite tuition fee rise, BBC told

[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
Education

Job cuts ‘inevitable’ over £30m Dundee University deficit

[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
Education

IT issue at Budehaven School forces closure to ‘safeguard pupils’

[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