Latest news with #primaryschools
CNA
18 hours ago
- General
- CNA
2026 school year to start on Jan 2, end on Nov 20
SINGAPORE: The 2026 school year for all Ministry of Education (MOE) kindergartens, primary and secondary schools will begin on Jan 2 and end on Nov 20. Students in Kindergarten 2 and from Primary 2 to 6 will report to school on Jan 5, said the ministry on Wednesday (Jul 30). Those entering their first year in junior colleges (JCs) and Millennia Institute (MI) will start on Feb 4, with the rest of the JC and MI students starting earlier, on Jan 12. VACATION PERIODS There are four vacation periods for schools, JCs and MI in 2026. For MOE kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, the first vacation period starts on Mar 14 and ends on Mar 22. The second begins May 30 and ends on Jun 28, the third runs from Sep 5 to Sep 13 and the fourth from Nov 21 to Dec 31. JCs and MI mainly share the first three vacation periods as MOE kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. However, the final vacation period for JC students in Year 1 and MI students in Years 1 and 2 will be from Nov 28 to Dec 31. JC students in Year 2 and MI students in Year 3 will have their vacation period from the end of the GCE A-Level examinations to Dec 31. There will also be three scheduled school holidays in 2026:
Irish Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Change to summer holiday period would require widespread consultation, says McEntee
The summer break poses 'challenges' for parents but any changes to holidays would have to be considered following consultation with schools, teachers and families, the Minister for Education has said. Helen McEntee said the issue may come up as part of a new convention on education announced by the Government on Thursday. The Fine Gael TD said schools are 'very active' throughout the year and summer holidays 'gives everybody a chance to take a break'. Ms McEntee also pointed to 1,800 primary schools that are participating in the summer programme , which caters for pupils with complex special educational needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage. READ MORE 'There's a lot of things happening over the summer, whether it's school camps, different types of sports or activities ... but I do acknowledge the challenges for parents when it comes to childcare ... that in many households you have both parents now working full-time,' she told reporters in Clondalkin, west Dublin. 'So the summer does pose challenges, but I think any changes to summer breaks, any changes to holidays, that's something that would always have to be considered in engagement and consultation with schools, with teachers, with parents, with families overall.' The Minister said she would like to see the reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education maintained. Third-level fees have been reduced to €2,000 as 'once-off' cost-of-living measures for the past three years. However, Minister for Higher Education James Lawless signalled late last month that a previous €1,000 reduction to fees would no longer apply after the Government decided there will be no cost-of-living package in the 2026 budget. 'There's a very clear commitment in the programme for government that we would continue to reduce it, and as someone who was leading the negotiations from the Fine Gael point of view, that is a very strong commitment that we've made, and one that we intend to see through,' Ms McEntee said. 'Obviously, any budget discussions have yet to happen or they'll be happening now over the summer months into October, and it will be for every individual Minister to set out exactly what their plans are and what their overall budget is, but we've made very clear commitments, and it's something that we want to see continue.' Separately, the Minister said that while it is important for there to be flexibility and structure at a Government level in terms of remote working, there must be 'autonomy' within companies also. AIB has moved to require staff eligible for hybrid working to return to its branches and offices three days a week on a phased basis, introducing the tightest rules among Irish retail banks. 'Ultimately, companies do have to make decisions based on what's right for them, what's right for the way in which they are working, while at the same time trying to support and recognise and acknowledge that people have families, school, commitments [and] that they have to try to work with them to make sure that everybody benefits from it,' Ms McEntee said.
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Schools told to make sex education ‘stage appropriate' as age limit plans axed
Schools in England should ensure relationships and sex education lessons are 'age and stage appropriate', the Government said as it scrapped proposals to impose age limits on certain topics. The Labour Government has recommended that primary schools teach sex education in Year 5 or Year 6, in line with what pupils learn about conception and birth, but it is not compulsory. Primary school teachers may decide to discuss the sharing of naked images or online sexual content if it is affecting their pupils and they know that children have seen pornography, according to the final statutory Government guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools. Proposals to impose strict age limits on topics in the RSHE curriculum, proposed by the previous Conservative government, will not go ahead. Draft guidance, published in May last year under the Conservatives, had suggested sex education should be taught no earlier than Year 5. It had proposed for issues like sexual harassment, revenge porn, upskirting and sexual exploitation and abuse to not be taught before Year 7 (age 11), and for explicit discussion of sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, to not take place before Year 9 (age 13). The draft guidance also said schools should not teach pupils about the concept of 'gender identity'. The final guidance on RSHE, which has been published a year after a consultation over the draft Conservative guidance closed, has not assigned specific ages to certain RSHE topics. Instead, it said schools should develop the RSHE curriculum to be 'relevant, age and stage appropriate and accessible to pupils in their area'. The Government guidance, published on Tuesday, said pupils should be taught the facts and the law about biological sex and gender reassignment. But on the debate around biological sex and gender reassignment, it told schools to be 'careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact'. It said schools should avoid materials that use cartoons or diagrams that 'oversimplify' the topic, or which 'encourage pupils to question their gender'. The Department for Education (DfE) has said revised guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children is due to be published this summer. In her foreword to the updated RSHE guidance, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'The depth and breadth of views is clear, and there are understandable and legitimate areas of contention. 'Our guiding principles have been that all of the compulsory subject content must be age appropriate and developmentally appropriate. 'It must be taught sensitively and inclusively, with respect to the backgrounds and beliefs of pupils and parents while always with the aim of providing pupils with the knowledge they need of the law.' The guidance said pupils should be given the opportunity to discuss the sexual norms endorsed by so-called 'involuntary celibates' (incels) or online influencers by the end of secondary school. It added that secondary school pupils should be taught about the prevalence of 'deepfakes' and how pornography can portray 'misogynistic' attitudes. The guidance has also advised secondary schools to work closely with mental health professionals to discuss suicide prevention in an age-appropriate way. It added that schools should continue to share RSHE curriculum materials with parents on request. Since September 2020, relationships and sex education has been compulsory in secondary schools in England, while relationships education has been compulsory in primary schools. In March 2023, then-prime minister Rishi Sunak brought forward a review of RSHE guidance for schools after hearing concerns that children were being exposed to 'inappropriate' content. Schools in England will have to follow the statutory RSHE guidance from September 2026. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'We are pleased to see that there are no age 'limits' included in this new guidance. 'Schools already work hard to ensure that teaching is age-appropriate and this approach gives them the vital flexibility to respond to their own community and the needs of pupils in their schools.' But he added: 'NAHT has particular concerns that the inclusion of suicide prevention content has not been accompanied by a commitment from the Government to provide funded training for all teachers to give them both the knowledge and the confidence they need to discuss suicide prevention and self-harm with young people. 'The provision of training is vital before this content becomes statutory and it is unacceptable that the guidance simply says that schools should work with mental health professionals to discuss how this sensitive content should be tackled in the classroom.' Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'We welcome the clarity over biological sex and gender reassignment in the guidance. 'There are strongly held and sometimes polarised views over these issues and it is important to have a clear set of national guidelines to follow. 'We hope soon to see specific guidance on supporting gender questioning children – something for which we have been calling for several years.' She added: 'We also welcome the focus on suicide prevention and pay tribute to campaigners for their work on highlighting this issue and the risks to young people. 'Schools already have a great deal of experience in supporting the wellbeing of pupils – and many have seen a rising number of young people struggling with their mental health in recent years. 'Unfortunately, there is still not enough external support available and we would like to see more work done to ensure that young people can access specialist services in a timely manner.' Laura Mackay, chief executive officer of LGBT+ young people's charity Just Like Us, said: 'Some teachers still struggle to discuss LGBT+ topics with their pupils. So it's good to see the new RSHE guidance strongly encouraging primary schools to teach about diverse families, including same-sex parents. 'However, there are aspects of the new guidance that could make teachers feel even more anxious about what they can do or say to support all LGBT+ young people. 'If schools treat gender identity as something that is taboo, trans and gender diverse young people across the UK will feel further alienated and unsafe at school.'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sats results rise on last year but stay below pre-pandemic levels
The proportion of Year 6 pupils in England who met the expected standard in this year's Sats exams has risen, but it is still below pre-pandemic levels, official statistics show. The Key Stage 2 results showed 62% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined this summer, up from 61% last year. In 2019, 65% of pupils met the standard, according to the provisional Department for Education (DfE) data. In individual subjects, scores were higher than last year. In total, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, up from 74% in 2024. In writing, 72% of pupils met the expected standard, an increase of 0.5 percentage points on last year. In grammar, punctuation and spelling, 73% of pupils met the expected standard, up from 72%. Overall, 82% of pupils met the expected standard in science, up from 81%, and 74% met the expected standard in maths, up from 73%. The DfE said these pupils experienced disruption to their learning during the pandemic, particularly at the end of Year 1 and in Year 2. Attainment in all subjects, other than reading, has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, it added. The figure come after education unions have raised concerns about the statutory tests in primary schools as they fear they are too 'high-pressure'. Currently, pupils in England sit Sats in the summer of Year 6 and these results are often used in holding primary schools to account. Children also take a phonics check in Year 1 and a times table check in Year 4. The interim report of the independent curriculum and assessment review, published in March, concluded that formal assessments are an 'important part' of primary school education. But it said the review will examine how the assessment of writing in Year 6 'can be improved', and it will review concerns about the grammar, punctuation and spelling assessment. The final report of the review, chaired by education expert Professor Becky Francis, is due to be published in the autumn.
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Parents, not teachers, can beat child obesity
Once again, primary schools are expected to 'fix' the obesity problem affecting young children (Majority of children will be overweight or obese in nine areas of England by 2035, study shows, 23 June). As a primary teacher and PE specialist, I know that this is largely ineffective. While half an hour or even 45 minutes of vigorous exercise a day sounds like the answer, one has only to observe three things that completely undermine this: how the children travel, what is in their lunch box and what they do when they get home. Many children are driven to school and those who do walk often stop at junk food shops on their way home. I've seen groups of schoolchildren outside the chippy at 4pm and others walking home with a frappuccino-type drink in their hand. As for lunch boxes, it is often a collection of processed snacks, crisps, fizzy drinks and biscuits. No fibre, no protein – not even a sandwich in sight. And when the pupils arrive home, it's often straight on the games console for a couple of hours. The concept of playing outside is alien to some of the children I have taught. The education system is invariably under pressure to address literacy, numeracy, behaviour and social interaction. But children's obesity is not a school issue, it's a cultural challenge that can only really be resolved by parents and the choices they WilkinsonSheffield Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
