A teacher accused of making inappropriate and sexual comments to pupils has been banned from the profession. Steven Battye, 59, was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by the Teaching Regulation Agency. The panel said the breaches included invading the personal space of a pupil and repeatedly commenting on another …

Getty Images Parents are struggling to access Send support while London’s councils face financial strain in funding it The number of children in the capital requiring special educational needs and disabilities (Send) support has reached record levels, analysis by BBC London has found. Over the past decade, the number has …

Bethan NimmoOxfordshire political reporter BBC Chris and Tabitha now have a permanent teenage foster daughter A former police community support officer has said the “heart-breaking” task of taking vulnerable children to a police station opened his eyes to the strain on the care system. Chris, from West Oxfordshire, said being …

Shannen HeadleyWest Midlands Google Higham Lane School in Nuneaton said an update will be provided to parents on Tuesday A school in Nuneaton has been forced to shut after a cyber attack affected parts of its IT systems. Higham Lane School, which has about 1,400 pupils aged 11 – 18 …

Getty Images Most parents across the region get their choice of primary school The deadline to apply for reception class places in September is days away, parents and guardians are being warned. The date by which families need to apply is 15 January – a date set nationally, although applications …

Family Hajar, Amina, Zakaria and Ismaeel love to go to the library after hours It’s after the library closes its doors for the night that four young children creep into the building with their mother, in a scene they imagine as being like the film Night at the Museum. Avid …

Tom BurgessNorth East and Cumbria BBC Mowbray Primary School was closed early for Christmas A primary school has been permanently closed after structural engineers found cracking and wall movement around the site. Mowbray Primary School in Stakeford, Northumberland, which has about 250 pupils, shut early for Christmas to allow a …

BBC Dominic Wilkes, head teacher of Budehaven Community School, said the decision to close had not been taken lightly A school has reopened following a two-day closure last week due to an outbreak of flu and streptococcus infection. Budehaven Community School, in Bude, Cornwall, said it had to suspend in-person …

University “cold spots” are developing in some parts of the country, new data analysis suggests, with courses in some subjects no longer available to students in certain regions. The new data tool, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) on Tuesday, showed a sharp decline in students taking French …

Vanessa ClarkeEducation reporter Getty Images The government has promised to create 50,000 more places for children with special educational needs (Send) in mainstream schools in England. It plans to invest £3bn over the next three years, partly funded by cancelling the building of some planned free schools. Councils – who …

Hazel Shearing,Education correspondentand Kate McGough,Education reporter Getty Images Some schools have had to bring back Covid-like measures to prevent the spread of flu, as rates of reported illnesses in schools and other educational settings are higher than this time last year. One primary school in Leeds said it had to …

James W Kelly,London, Anna O’Neill,Stanford-le-Hopeand Frankie McCamley,London BBC Louise Butcher withdrew her two children from a Mossbourne academy school last month Several parents of pupils at two secondary schools in Essex say their children have been left anxious, unsupported and in some cases unsafe since the schools were taken over …

A former school could be used to increase places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). Wiltshire Council want the Calder House Independent School, near Colerne, to become a satellite campus of an existing special school. The council has not said which school yet. The planned campus, now …

MomentoJpeg Ofsted warns unregistered care homes can sometimes charge “exorbitant fees” Nine in 10 councils across England are placing children in unregistered homes which can charge up to £30,000 a week per child. The findings, published in Ofsted’s annual report, describe how local authorities often cannot find places in registered …

Shariqua AhmedPeterborough Gemma Kirk Jack Lloyd died at a county park in Farcet, a village near Peterborough A city school is launching a swimming project in memory of a teenager who died after getting into difficulty at a lake. Peterborough’s Hampton Vale Primary Academy plans to install a portable pop-up …

Carmelo GarciaLocal Democracy Reporting Service Getty Images The heating system at Bishop’s Cleeve Primary Academy needs replacing Children at a school in Gloucestershire are having to wear extra layers of clothing because their school heating system can only run at 50% capacity and needs replacing. Bishop’s Cleeve Primary Academy sent …

Aimee Dexterand Rachael McMenemy PA Media Prime Minister Keir Starmer said children would “learn better” due to the meals Free school meals will help children “learn better”, Sir Keir Starmer said during a visit to a school in Peterborough. From September 2026, tens of thousands of additional children in the …

George Torr,East Midlandsand Heidi Booth,Nottingham Heidi Booth/BBC The protest has received letters of support from the Spanish and Cuban ambassadors to the UK Students and lecturers held a protest over the potential future of modern languages courses after a university suspended entry for new students. In April, the University of …

Victoria WaltonOxfordshire political reporter BBC Oxfordshire County Council is looking at ways of bringing down its SEND spending by supporting more children with additional needs in a mainstream setting. A local authority is planning to support more children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools, to reduce …

Shariqua AhmedPeterborough Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Sehrish Darr and her daughter Aiman, 13, said they are “grateful” to have their new home Children are no longer being housed in bed-and-breakfast (B&B) accommodation following a campaign to end the practice, a council said. Peterborough Citizens, an alliance of schools and charities, had called …