National News
Cosmeticorexia: How girls are falling down a skincare rabbit hole
Saturday 6th June 2026Fuelled by social media, the market for children's skincare is booming...
Labour will make AI ‘work for the workers’, says Liz Kendall
Friday 5th June 2026Technology secretary promises to support people whose jobs are swept away by automationLiz Kendall has insisted Labour will make artificial intelligence “work for workers”, and not abandon people whose jobs are swept away by its rapid advance...
Pupils asked to walk to school through army firing range, MP claims
Friday 5th June 2026Getting children to school is becoming a thorny issue for councils to deal with...
Trump’s justice department is weaponizing civil rights laws against students of color | ReNika Moore
Friday 5th June 2026Claims of discrimination at UCLA and Yale show how laws meant to foster inclusion are being used for the oppositeThe Department of Justice’s civil rights division was once known as the crown jewel of the agency, but under Trump it has become just another tool of this administration’s politicized and racialized attacks targeting Black, Latino and other people of color...
Number of teachers in England’s state schools drops for second year in row
Thursday 4th June 2026Despite Labour’s promises to increase recruitment, school census shows a fall of nearly 2,000 teachers since last yearThe number of teachers working in England’s state schools has shrunk for the second year in a row, even as the government said it was meeting its promises to increase recruitment where needed...
Smartglasses and earpieces may worsen exam cheating in schools, says Ofqual
Thursday 4th June 2026Stronger checks likely to be needed in England to safeguard reputation of GCSE, AS and A-levels, says Ian BauckhamCheating in exams could be magnified by the new generation of wearable hi-tech devices such as smartglasses or invisible earpieces, according to England’s qualifications watchdog...
UK university’s axing of black studies MA has ‘dangerous parallel’ with US, says academic
Thursday 4th June 2026Civil rights scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw warns Birmingham City University’s decision part of extremist campaign that has ‘travelled across Atlantic’A leading US civil rights scholar has urged Birmingham City University (BCU) to reverse its decision to close its black studies course, comparing it to the attack on diversity, equity and inclusion in the US...
Debt-ridden graduates seen as ‘cash cows’ to fund older people’s lifestyles, MPs told
Tuesday 2nd June 2026Student groups tell inquiry about ballooning debt and ‘sneaky changes’ to loan terms while likening system to finance scandalsGraduates saddled with ballooning student loan debts feel they are being unfairly used as “cash cows” to finance measures benefiting older people such as the state pension triple lock, MPs have been told...
How a borough in Merseyside is bucking the UK's youth unemployment trend
Saturday 30th May 2026A major review has declared that Britain faces a "lost generation" - could personalised early intervention help prevent under-16s falling into the Neet trap?Read full story...
What does Neet stand for and why does the UK have so many?
Friday 29th May 2026Ministers want to tackle the high number of young people not in education, employment or training...
Sunak is right that our students need financial literacy – but that shouldn’t mean yet more maths | Simon Jenkins
Friday 29th May 2026Education should prepare young people for dealing not only with practical things such as insurance, pensions and taxes but also with tech and mental healthWhat is it about ex-ministers that they suddenly know how to run the country? Tony Blair hurls thunderbolts at his successor, Keir Starmer...
Hacking claims, mismatched answer-sheets: Controversies rock school exam in India
Thursday 28th May 2026Students blame the CBSE's newly-launched digital evaluation system used for marking this year's Grade 12 exams...
‘Standing up for our children’: parents divided over London teachers’ strikes
Thursday 28th May 2026Waltham Forest in the east of the capital has seen a wave of industrial action in schools, with more to come The gates to South Grove primary school in Walthamstow were closed to pupils last week...
Feeding the future of France: Rollout of €1 meals an attempt to help struggling students
Thursday 28th May 2026It’s a thumbs up from the country’s 3 million students, who can now buy cheap meals up to twice a dayWhere in France can you get a nutritious and balanced three-course meal for €1?If you are one of the country’s estimated 3 million students in higher education, the answer is: the university restaurant or cafe...
UK risks £125bn hit a year from youth unemployment, landmark report says
Thursday 28th May 2026Alan Milburn warns of ‘lost generation’ after number of young people not in work or education rises to more than 1m‘A record of failure’: what’s in first part of Milburn report?Tell us: we would like to hear from young people in the UK about their job hunting experienceBritain risks a financial hit worth £125bn a year from a worsening crisis in youth worklessness after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million...
‘A record of failure’: what’s in the first part of Alan Milburn’s Neet report?
Thursday 28th May 2026The former minister paints damning picture of structural issues affecting 1 million young people in the UKAlan Milburn, the Blair-era cabinet minister turned social mobility adviser, has delivered the first part of his government-commissioned report on why increasing numbers of people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training (Neet)...
'Lost generation’: why can’t young people get jobs? – The Latest
Thursday 28th May 2026A landmark government-backed report has warned that the UK risks a ‘lost generation’ of young people, as new figures show that more than 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK were not in education, employment or training...
Labour poised for fresh welfare changes after scale of youth jobs crisis revealed
Thursday 28th May 2026Alan Milburn’s landmark report says unemployment among young costs UK £125bn a year and warns of ‘lost generation’ ‘A record of failure’: what’s in first part of Milburn report?Tell us: we would like to hear from young people in the UK about their job hunting experienceLabour is poised for a fresh attempt at changing the welfare system after a major government-backed report said youth unemployment was costing Britain more than £125bn a year...
The Guardian view on jobs and training: boosting young people’s chances should be a national mission | Editorial
Thursday 28th May 2026Colleges and placements can help the 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds who aren’t earning or learning...
Student loans inquiry responses show ‘massive scale of frustration and upset’
Wednesday 27th May 2026More than 52,000 people respond to Commons committee’s call for evidence amid criticism of loan termsThousands of graduates have told an official inquiry their horror stories and bad experiences relating to student loans, underlining what the chair of an MPs’ committee called massive levels of “frustration and upset”...
The Guardian view on support for youth: someone in government should grab hold of school sports | Editorial
Tuesday 26th May 2026With concerns about childhood obesity and screen use sky-high, cuts to primary PE are an unforced errorWith remarkably poor timing, days before closing a consultation on children’s social media use, the government announced last week that it is cutting an annual £320m sports premium for primary schools in England...
Education secretary to order review of hidden childcare costs
Monday 25th May 2026Bridget Phillipson will ask the competition watchdog to examine costs that families are still facing in government-funded free childcare...
Education secretary to ask competition watchdog to review hidden childcare costs
Monday 25th May 2026Bridget Phillipson will ask the competition watchdog to examine costs that families are still facing in government-funded free childcare...
‘Massive’ child abuse scandal in France as school staff investigated for violence and sexual assault
Monday 25th May 2026Paris police looking into more than 100 allegations of mistreatment by ‘monitors’ after parents’ groups said they had fought for years to be taken seriouslyFrance is facing a child abuse scandal as ‘monitors’ at dozens of state nursery and primary schools are investigated for violence, sexual assault and rape...
Nurseries in England charging extra fees to cover funding gap, campaigners say
Monday 25th May 2026Head of Early Years Alliance says additional charges paid by parents represent ‘cross-subsidy’Parents of nursery children in England are being charged extra fees to cover for government underfunding of free childcare hours, with some paying thousands of pounds a year for consumables such as food, wipes and nappies, campaigners have said...
I avoid AI tools because thinking is supposed to be hard. It’s what makes us human | Wendy Liu
Sunday 24th May 2026As intelligence itself becomes privatised by big tech, allowing your intellectual faculties to wither in service of inane bots seems a dangerous moveLong before the age of multi-billion-dollar AI companies promising to disrupt the field of software development, I was learning to code the hard way...
Bridget Phillipson orders review of hidden childcare charges hitting parents
Sunday 24th May 2026Education secretary asks UK watchdog to look into nursery practices, including non-refundable deposits and add-onsBridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is ordering a competition review of hidden childcare charges amid concerns parents are being hit with extra charges, despite the government’s flagship expansion of funded childcare hours...
Labour to expand youth work experience and training schemes
Sunday 24th May 2026Announcement comes after former minister Alan Milburn says Britain has neglected a generation of young peopleMinisters are expanding youth work experience and training schemes, after Alan Milburn warned Britain is spending £25 keeping young people on benefits for every £1 spent helping them into work...
Primary schools lose out as Labour slashes sport funding
Friday 22nd May 2026New scheme will be worth 40% less than current government grants and will be shared with secondariesFunding for primary school sport in England is to be slashed by Labour, including the abolition of a grant designed to cement the 2012 Olympic legacy, to the dismay of school leaders...
Primary schools to lose out as Labour scraps 2012 Olympic legacy sports grant
Friday 22nd May 2026Replacement scheme worth about 40% less than current funding greeted with scepticism by headteachersFunding for primary school sport in England is to be cut by Labour, including the abolition of a grant designed to cement the 2012 Olympic legacy, to the dismay of school leaders...
UK police bosses urge unsafe platforms to be blocked for under-16s
Thursday 21st May 2026The NCA and NPCC say children should be blocked from accessing sites which do not stop them seeing nudes or being contacted by strangers...
Meta settles major social media addiction lawsuit with school district
Thursday 21st May 2026Kentucky is one of about 1,200 school districts across the US that have each sued Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTubeMeta agreed to settle a major lawsuit on Thursday with a school district in Kentucky over claims that its social networks are designed to be addictive, leading to harm in children...
‘It’s put the joy levels up’: the flood-prone London school with a climate-adapted playground
Thursday 21st May 2026When pupils could no longer play outside, St John’s school in Barnet decided to act, enlisting Trees for Cities to help rethink its outside spaceThe play area at St John’s Church of England primary in Barnet, north London, used to flood so severely it was often unusable...
Schools are ‘pipeline’ to joblessness for many people, says ex-Labour adviser
Thursday 21st May 2026Ban social media and reform education to tackle scandal of young people not in work or study, says Peter HymanSchools have become a “pipeline” to worklessness for a large cohort of young people in the UK, according to an influential former Labour adviser who has called for urgent action to help a “lost generation”...
Struggling with the nine times table? I have a failsafe method | Adrian Chiles
Thursday 21st May 2026Apparently, nines are the hardest to grasp for primary school children...
‘Attainment at all costs’ approach could undermine Send changes, school leaders in England say
Wednesday 20th May 2026Union says emphasis on academic goals conflicts with proposed measures on special educational needs provisionChanges to special educational needs provision in England could be thwarted by “academic attainment at all costs” policies that prioritise exam results and punish inclusive schools, headteachers have said in response to a government consultation...
Children’s reading should prioritise pleasure over learning, says laureate
Tuesday 19th May 2026Frank Cottrell-Boyce tells MPs to focus on early-years reading, with more support for parents and nursery workersThe children’s laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, has urged the government to prioritise pleasure over learning in children’s reading...
After dinosaurs, it’s spot the dog! But can a child really learn anything in a gallery?
Monday 18th May 2026Galleries such as National Museum Cardiff pull in children with their play areas and pencils – but stick around and you’ll notice kids critiquing Turner paintings tooNeil Osborne and his three-year-old daughter Daisy are peering at a small, shimmering painting by JMW Turner of foaming waves crashing against a cliff...
Sons of jailed Saudi scholars urge Cambridge to drop plans to train Riyadh staff
Sunday 17th May 2026Exclusive: Families of men facing death penalty join opposition to proposals to run courses for defence ministryThe families of two scholars facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia have appealed to the University of Cambridge to drop proposals to run staff training courses for Riyadh’s defence ministry...
Canvas hack: is it ever a good idea to pay a ransom, and what happens to the data?
Saturday 16th May 2026Businesses are advised against paying – but as the Canvas platform hack shows, many are prepared to deal to protect users’ privacyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAfter a week of outages, hundreds of millions of students’ data stolen, delayed assignment due dates, and school login pages being defaced by hackers, US tech firm Instructure – which operates the education platform Canvas, used by education providers worldwide – announced it had “reached an agreement with the unauthorised actor” behind the ransomware attack...
La Gradiva review – stunning coming-of-age story of young love and sexual tension
Saturday 16th May 2026Cannes film festival: Marine Atlan’s debut film follows a group of French high-school kids and their long-suffering teacher on a visit to Pompeii and NaplesHere is cinematographer turned director Marine Atlan’s beautiful debut film about young love, superbly acted and directed...
King’s College and Cranfield hope to be stronger together in surprise merger
Friday 15th May 2026News will come as a shock to staff, especially at Cranfield, but the institutions’ bosses say intention is growthThe announcement that King’s College London is to absorb Cranfield University came as a surprise but not a shock to England’s higher education leaders, who have been braced for sudden announcements about job cuts and course closures...
Privately educated CEOs seen as ‘safer bet’ by investors, study finds
Thursday 14th May 2026Privilege being mistaken for competence as study reveals no evidence to suggest companies run by state-educated peers underperformChief executives who attended private school are perceived by investors as a “safer bet”, according to a study, despite there being no evidence they perform or behave differently to their state-educated counterparts...
The south London community where ‘pioneering’ scholarship choristers are made
Wednesday 13th May 2026St John the Divine, Kennington has built one of UK’s largest youth choral programmes in area marked by deprivation St Paul’s Cathedral school, one of the UK’s most prestigious private schools, has long been associated with the musical elite...
US university’s commencement speaker reveals he will pay off students’ final-year loans
Tuesday 12th May 2026Anil Kochhar hopes textile graduates of North Carolina State can leave with ‘greater freedom to pursue goals’Anil Kochhar, a North Carolina State University donor, gave graduates of the school’s Wilson College of Textiles a lot more than just words of wisdom when he delivered their keynote commencement address recently...
Youth mobility scheme disagreement hampering reset of UK-EU relations
Tuesday 12th May 2026Deal was expected by end of month but talks hit buffers over cap on number of people entering UK and tuition feesUK politics live – latest updatesEurope live – latest updatesSignificant gaps remain in negotiations on the reset in relations between the UK and the EU despite Keir Starmer’s latest pledge to put Britain “at the heart of Europe” after last week’s election drubbing...
Birmingham City University urged not to axe Black studies MA
Monday 11th May 2026More than 100 figures sign open letter criticising closure, just months after MA was launchedMore than 100 academics, writers and activists from around the world have signed an open letter condemning plans to close an MA in Black studies and global justice at Birmingham City University (BCU), just months after it was first launched...
Cambridge University seeks deal with Saudi defence ministry despite rights concerns
Monday 11th May 2026Senior academics describe the Judge business school’s proposal to provide services and training as ‘horrifying’Cambridge University’s business school is seeking to provide “leadership development” and “innovation management” to Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry despite concerns over its government’s record on human rights and climate change, the Guardian has learned...
‘One of the greatest invisible tragedies’: is the loss of childhood imagination inevitable?
Sunday 10th May 2026We have created the most stifling and sanitised imaginative space conceivable for children, says teacher Brendan James Murray...
I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment | Micah Nathan
Sunday 10th May 2026The problem wasn’t just the perfectly polished, yet mediocre prose...
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