Weekly round-up: Ofsted changes and teachers quitting

Catch up on your must-read Tes news and analysis from the past week right here:

• Ofsted crisis: Keegan promises ‘immediate changes’ to inspection 
  Education secretary Gillian Keegan has promised some “immediate” changes to Ofsted inspection following a meeting today with friends and family of late headteacher Ruth Perry.
   
• Ofsted under fire over refusal to share inspection evidence
  Nearly three-quarters of heads’ freedom of information requests to see Ofsted inspectors’ evidence about their school have been rejected by the watchdog over the past four years, Tes reveals,
   
• NAHT could join forces in legal action against Ofsted
  A school leaders’ union is considering joining forces with other legal actions against Ofsted, saying that “a single collaborative approach is likely to be more effective”.
   
• Teachers leaving at highest rate in four years 
  One in 10 of all qualified teachers left the state-funded sector in the academic year 2021-22 - a rise of 22 per cent from the previous year.
   
• One in four teachers likely to quit in five years in challenging areas 
  A quarter of secondary teachers working in the government’s Education Improvement Areas say they are unlikely to be in the profession in five years’ time, new research reveals.
   
• Recruitment crisis intensifies as schools make ‘reluctant’ appointments 
  More than a third of secondary school leaders have made a reluctant appointment to a teaching position, while half have been unable to interview any candidate because of a weak field, according to a new report.
   
• Flexible working: why schools must embrace the new reality
  Increasing flexible-working opportunities in schools will not only make teachers happier - it will improve the education of disadvantaged children, says Commons Education Select Committee member Anna Firth.
   
• KCSIE 2023-24: The key changes you need to know about 
  The DfE has published updated safeguarding guidance for schools in its latest version of Keeping Children Safe in Education.
   
• Behaviour: DfE warned about promoting ‘punitive’ approach 
  The promotion of a “sanctions-based” approach to managing behaviour in government guidance is contributing to an escalation of challenging activity and punitive responses in schools, research from the University of Cambridge suggests.
   
• Ignore us and risk more strikes, NEU warns Keegan
  The largest teaching union in England has warned the government that it could face fresh strikes next month if education secretary Gillian Keegan ignores calls for pay talks to resume.
   
• Strikes: Unions call for joint staff meetings to boost ballot turnout 
  All four major education unions in England have signalled their commitment to working together on the pay dispute by calling on schools to hold joint union staff meetings later this month to boost ballot turnout.
   
• Children’s writing at ‘crisis point’, experts warn
  Children and young people’s writing is at “crisis point”, the National Literacy Trust has warned, with new research revealing that the number of pupils who enjoy writing has fallen by more than a quarter.
   
• Major MAT to make learning resources available to all 
  United Learning, the country’s biggest multi-academy trust, is making its curriculum resources available to everyone from this week.
   
• Number of pupils on free school meals tops 2 million 
  The number of pupils eligible for free school meals has risen to more than 2 million - an increase of 82 per cent since 2017, new government data shows.
   
• Why the crisis in AP schools can’t be ignored any longer
  The rise in exclusions from mainstream schools has overwhelmed our alternative provision sector - and policymakers need to act fast, warns pupil referral unit head Steve Howell.