Weekly round-up: Teacher pay and school complaints

Catch up on all your must-read Tes news and analysis:

• Revealed: How trusts use their freedom on teacher pay
  Which academies deviate from the national teacher pay scale, and is this affecting other schools’ ability to recruit? Tes investigates.
• Exclusive: How does MAT teacher pay compare in your area?
  Tes’ interactive map shows which academy trusts are paying above the nationally set rate.
• Burden of school complaints a ‘significant concern’, Ofsted told
  The pressure that complaints are putting on schools is a “significant concern” to multi-academy trusts, the Confederation of School Trusts has warned Ofsted.
• Why we need a more humane accountability system
  The role of inspection has become disproportionate and this must change under the next government, writes head Helena Marsh.
• Election 2024: Behaviour tsar urges alternative provision increase
  National behaviour tsar Tom Bennett has appealed to the next government to oversee a “massive reinvestment” in alternative provision to provide for a “significant minority” of students in mainstream schools “whose needs can very rarely be met” by them.
• Next government ‘faces persistent education inequalities’
  The next government will inherit a series of challenges facing schools, including “persistent” education inequalities, higher pupil absences and growing mental health difficulties, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned.
• Revealed: The fastest growing MATs
  Which multi-academy trusts have seen the fastest expansion over the past year, and what battles are others having to fight to keep growing? Matilda Martin investigates.
• Urgent SEND problems in almost third of areas inspected
  Widespread and systemic failings in the provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities that need urgent action have been found in almost one-third of the areas inspected last year.
• GCSE and A-level exam entry data: nine things you need to know
  New government data offers a raft of insights on entries for exams this summer. Ellen Peirson-Hagger picks through the key points.
• ‘Struggling’ science teachers can’t afford to run practical lessons
  The next government must provide enough funding for science practical equipment and chemicals, a chemistry body has said as more schools are being forced to apply for extra funding to afford equipment.
• Why we must inspire students to study English beyond A level
  From Chaucer to Taylor Swift, the study of English at university is far broader than students realise - and teachers can play a key role in making them aware of this, write three professors.
• Can flexible working really solve the teacher recruitment crisis?
  In Tes’ Big Debate webinar, three trust leaders discuss the increasing range of flexible working opportunities on offer to their staff. But are initiatives like these enough to attract more teachers into the profession?

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