Latest news with #RussellHobby
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sixth formers missing out on French and Spanish
Sixth formers are missing out on French and Spanish at A-level because there are not enough teachers, a poll reveals. The poll, by the education charity Teach First, has found nearly a quarter of schools in the poorest areas of Britain do not offer French A-level, while 17 per cent do not offer Spanish or music. The charity says a shortage of trained teachers is locking many pupils out of many opportunities. Teacher vacancies in England are currently at their highest level since records began, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). It follows claims from unions that the Government is on track to miss its manifesto commitment to recruit 6,500 new teachers, funded by a VAT raid on private schools. The new poll also found almost a third of schools in deprived communities do not offer computer science A-level because of a lack of teachers trained in that subject. Almost twice as many schools in the poorest areas lack a trained computer science teacher compared with the wealthiest areas. Schools in the poorest areas of the country are three times more likely to lack a trained music teacher. Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First, said: 'The impact of a great teacher goes far beyond the classroom – they open futures. But right now, too many young people are being locked out of studying A-levels like computer science because there simply aren't enough trained teachers. 'This blocks pupils from poorer areas from some of the best-paid careers in a fast-growing tech and AI-driven economy. If we do not act now, we won't just fail these young people – we'll hold our country back. 'The Government must act in the spending review: raise teacher pay, support those teaching in the schools and subjects that need them most, and make sure every pupil has access to the opportunities they deserve.' Belinda Chapple, the head teacher of Caterham High School, which is facing staffing shortages, said that the low levels of teachers left schools facing 'difficult choices'. She said: 'Across the country, schools like mine are making difficult choices because of the national staffing shortages in key subjects. 'We've struggled to recruit computer science teachers, like many other schools, removing a key career pathway for our A-level students. 'We urgently need increased funding for disadvantaged schools, increased teacher pay and additional pay premiums to attract subject experts to the schools that need them most – otherwise, we risk narrowing futures and deepening inequality for a generation.' In a report published in March, the NFER said unfilled teaching posts rose by more than a fifth in 2023-24 to hit six vacancies per 1,000 teachers last year – double the pre-pandemic rate and six times higher than in 2010-11. Meanwhile, the proportion of pupils in 'large' class sizes continues to rise, which the NFER said usually indicated a lack of high-quality teachers in schools. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Independent
27-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Number of young people not in work or education hits record level in more than a decade
Nearly one million young people are not in education, employment or training (Neet) – the highest level in more than a decade, figures show. Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimated that 987,000 people aged 16-24 were Neet between October and December 2024 - 13.4 per cent of all those in this age group. This is up 1.3 per cent compared with October to December 2023 and up 0.3 percentage points on the previous quarter. The last time the number of young people not in education, employment or training was this high was from October to December 2013. The number of Neet young people in the time period was 1.03 million. An estimated 14.4 per cent (542,000) of young men and 12.3 per cent (445,000) of young women were Neet from October to December 2024. Nearly 400,000 of 16-24-year-olds were unemployed - up 84,000 from the year before; And 595,000 were economically inactive. Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First, said the figures were 'shocking', adding: 'With young people from disadvantaged background hardest hit, today's unjust figures should ring alarm bells across the country. 'The government must increase and prioritise funding to schools serving the most disadvantaged communities to help rewrite this narrative and open the door to a brighter future for all.' TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: 'Every young person deserves a decent start to their working life but under the Tories, more and more young people became stuck out of work or training, which comes with huge consequences for future opportunities. 'The government is now rightly prioritising change but with close to one million young people outside of employment or education the situation is stark.' Stephen Evans, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, said: 'Today's worrying rise may signal further trouble ahead in the absence of economic growth, and highlights the importance of implementing a youth guarantee so all young people are offered a job, training place or apprenticeship.' Meanwhile, new research suggests almost a third of young people who are Neet have jobs they do not want because they are desperate for employment. The King's Trust said its survey of 4,285 people aged between 16 and 25 found one in five is applying for jobs every day. Half of Neets said they feel hopeless about their future because they are unemployed, according to the report.
The Independent
24-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
‘Crisis of school absenteeism' affecting poorer pupils the most, new data suggests
Pupils on free school meals are more than three times more likely to be absent without authorisation in every region outside the capital, new data for secondary schools suggests. Data published by the Department for Education (DfE) shows that secondary students in the north of England are also more likely to miss school without permission than children in London or the Midlands. The data has led experts to warn schools are facing a 'crisis of absenteeism' following the Covid pandemic, hitting the poorest pupils hardest. Some 7.5 per cent of secondary school sessions, blocks of classes in the morning or afternoon, had a child eligible for free school meals absent without permission in Yorkshire and the Humber last term. This was 7.3 per cent in the North East of England and 6.5 per cent in the North West, compared to 4.2 per cent in London, and 5.4 per cent in the West Midlands. For children who weren't eligible for free school meals, unauthorised absence rates dropped to just 2 per cent for the North East, 1.8 per cent in the North West, and 2.1 per cent in Yorkshire. In London, this was 1.7 per cent, data for the autumn 2024 term showed. School absence rates have risen since the pandemic, and academics from the London School of Economics predict that they will remain above pre-Covid levels until those who began secondary school during the pandemic have left. Professor of social mobility, Lee Elliot Major, at Exeter University, said: 'We are facing a crisis of school absenteeism. No matter what we do in education, if children aren't in the classroom, they're falling behind. 'Regional variations in attendance are closely tied to the levels of poverty beyond the school gates. Many children growing up in disadvantaged areas, where local job prospects are also limited, are more likely to miss school regularly, further limiting their future opportunities. 'A child on free school meals in Sunderland or Southport will be facing a completely different environment to one based in Stratford or Southwark - with many from families where generations have had poor experiences of schooling.' He said trust and relationships needed to be 'rebuilt between schools and families' to encourage children back into the classroom. Russell Hobby, chief executive of educational equality organisation Teach First, said: 'Once again we see that pupils from the poorest backgrounds, especially in the North of England, are the most likely to miss school.' The new data comes as charities warn that they are seeing young people resort to self-harm and school refusal amid crippling academic pressures in the wake of Covid. Praveena Pakium, from Step by Step, a Surrey-based charity, said: 'We are seeing more safeguarding alerts than before the pandemic. Children refusing to go to school also feels connected to the pandemic, with people being out of school for so long. It's not always easy to go back to how things were, and there is an increased anxiety. I think we've still got a lot of fallout from that time.' She warned that 'young people are using self-harm as a coping mechanism' and they are seeing more children with increasingly complex mental health needs. New polling by Parentkind for The Times showed that almost a third of children in the UK have refused to go to school at least once in the past year. This adds up to an estimated 3.3 million children who declined to attend school for at least one day last year. Ten per cent of these children, equivalent to 330,000 students, had missed two or more weeks of school, the poll suggested. Martyna Lambon, from Aberdeen Foyer, a youth charity in Scotland, said they were also seeing more young people struggle to attend school post-Covid. She said: 'We forgot we left these kids behind after the pandemic. Nothing was normal for them growing up during that time, and now resilience is something they really struggle with. 'Some 16-and-17-year-olds appear to have lost all hope if they fail their final exams or leave school earlier. They no longer believe in themselves or their future, convinced they have no chance of achieving anything.' Chief executive of EveryYouth Nick Connolly pointed to rising youth homelessness as having an impact on school attendance. He said: 'Students experiencing homelessness face even bigger challenges to their academic performance and are 7.5 times more likely to have reported frequent absences from school.' Matt Garrod, at the Benjamin Foundation in East Anglia, a youth homelessness charity, said they are seeing 'more young people coming into their accommodation services with complex needs and with mental health challenges'. A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Tackling the epidemic of school absence is everyone's responsibility – government, schools, parents, and children – we need a national effort to get our kids back in the classroom. 'Persistent absence has improved this autumn term, with thanks to the hard work of schools and parents, but there are still far too many children missing school. 'This government inherited an absence crisis but we remain laser-focused on tackling the problem and its drivers – ensuring attendance remains a key focus of school inspections, providing access to mental health professionals to all schools, and reforming the SEND system, so we deliver on our Plan for Change and every child achieves thrives in school."
