Schools in England may have to cut staff to balance their books
A growing number of schools in England are warning that they will soon be unsafe due to staff reductions caused by budget constraints. According to data released by the Department for Education, one in eight local authority maintained schools were in deficit in 2022-23, the highest proportion since 1999. This was mainly due to rising energy costs and staff pay rises that were not fully funded by the government.
Schools say they are struggling to cope with increasing pupil numbers, behavioural issues, and special educational needs. Some heads fear their schools will be unable to safeguard or support vulnerable children and families who rely on them.
The National Education Union predicts that the situation will worsen this year, as more schools will have to cut staff to balance their books. It says this will lead to larger class sizes and create additional stress for teachers and students.
Labour plans to introduce ‘misogyny mentors’ in schools
The Labour party has said that it will introduce ‘misogyny mentors’ if it forms the next government. It plans to train older students to coach younger boys to recognise and stop behaving inappropriately towards women and girls. Labour’s announcement comes as analysis from the House of Commons Library shows a growing number of references to misogyny, sexism and sexual harassment in Ofsted reports.
Labour will send regional improvement teams into schools to train staff on introducing the peer-to-peer mentoring scheme. It is also considering introducing lessons to teach students how to spot disinformation as part of a wider review of the curriculum.
New guidance to ban mobile phones in schools
The government has issued new guidance to support headteachers in prohibiting the use of mobile phones during the school day in England. The aim is to minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms. The guidance does not apply to colleges.
The guidance provides examples of different approaches that schools can take to ban mobile phones, such as introducing lockers with charging points, handing in phones on arrival at school, or keeping phones securely locked away at school.
The move will bring England in line with other countries that have restricted mobile phone use in schools, such as France, Italy and Portugal.
Teachers top list of professionals working unpaid overtime
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed that UK employers benefited from £26 billion worth of unpaid overtime in 2023, as millions of workers put in extra hours without pay. Its analysis found that 3.8 million people did unpaid overtime in 2023, averaging 7.2 hours a week. This amounts to an average annual loss of £7,200 for each worker. Teachers topped the list with 40% working unpaid overtime, followed by chief executives and senior officials.
Cybersecurity threats in UK education sector
A new report by Trustwave reveals the unique cybersecurity challenges faced by education institutions in the UK.
The education sector handles sensitive data concerning minors, intellectual property, and personal information, making it a prime target for cyberattacks. These attacks threaten the safety and security of teachers and administrators, and put the privacy of students, staff, and other associated entities at risk.
Some of the key findings from the report include:
- The threat group LockBit accounted for 30% of ransomware incidents targeting the education sector
- Apache Log4j (CVE-2021-44228) continues to be the most common exploit attempt against educational institutions, accounting for 74% of attempts.
- There is significant exposure of critical systems and devices with 1.8M devices related to the education industry being publicly exposed.
Irwin Mitchell has a Cyber Security Health Check for clients which highlights practical steps schools and colleges can take to protect their organisations and reduce cyber-risk by up to 98%. Please contact our Chief Information Security Officer, Graham Thomson for more information.
New report reveals major differences and inequalities in UK post-16 education and training
A new report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and the Centre for Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE) has exposed stark variations and disparities in the provision and outcomes of post-16 education and training (E&T) across the UK nations. The report, which compares the policies, participation and inequalities in E&T in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, finds that:
- Wales has the highest share of pupils who are 'Not in Education, Employment or Training' (NEET) and the worst outcomes for working class young people in terms of qualifications and employment
- Scotland and Northern Ireland have more young people staying in schools rather than going to colleges, and more apprenticeships taken by 16-18-year-olds than England and Wales
- England has the highest participation in Higher Education among students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, but also the highest tuition fees and student debt
- All four nations have experienced a high level of policy churn and divergence in E&T since devolution in 1999, which has been detrimental to the morale and aspirations of staff, stakeholders and learners.
The report calls for urgent and active action in Wales, a greater policy focus on inequalities, a new stable policy settlement, and better and more comparable data across the four nations.
Menopause: new guidance to help employers understand their obligations to women
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published new guidance to help employers understand the steps they need to take to support staff experiencing menopausal symptoms. It confirms that, under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) and health and safety legislation:
- Menopause and peri-menopause symptoms can qualify as a “disability” under the Equality Act if they have a substantial impact on a woman’s ability to carry out her normal day-to-day activities and are long term (i.e. has lasted 12 months or is likely to last 12 months). If so, an employer is under a legal duty to consider and make reasonable adjustments and must not discriminate against the woman on the grounds of her disability.
- Women experiencing menopause and peri-menopause symptoms may also be protected from discrimination on the grounds of age and sex.
- Employers must carry out a risk assessment of their workplace to ensure that menopause and peri-menopause symptoms are not made worse by the workplace and make any necessary adjustments.
You can read our detailed analysis here.
Union set to challenge new “anti strike” laws
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 came into force last year and gives the government powers to make regulations to set minimum service levels in specified sectors during strikes. So far, the government has imposed minimum service levels in respect of rail, ambulance, and border security services.
The general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents over 185,000 civil service workers, said that it has sent a letter before action to the government, warning that it will seek a judicial review of the minimum service laws. The union believe that this law violate the right to strike that is protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The government has 14 days to respond.
Timeline for new immigration changes
The timeline for the Skilled Worker and family migration routes has been announced in the Statement to the House of Commons.
From 11 March 2024 the following rules will apply:
- Care workers and senior care workers won’t be able to bring their family members to the UK
- Care providers in England will only be able to sponsor migrant workers if they are performing tasks regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
From 4 April 2024, the Skilled Worker general salary threshold will increase from £26,000 to £38,000, and the 20% going rate discount for occupations on the Shortage Occupation List will be removed.
From 11 April 2024, the minimum income threshold for family visas will increase from £18,600 to £29,000 (and will increase incrementally to £34,300 and then £38,700).
Labour plans to improve equality for BAME workers
The Labour Party has said that if it gets into government, it will extend equal pay rights to Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) workers that currently only apply to women. According to the Guardian, the legal right would be phased in to give employers time to adapt to paying all their staff fairly. The change will also cover disabled people.
Insight into workers’ views on pensions, savings, and retirement planning
The Department for Work and Pensions has published a report on engaging with pensions at timely moments which reveals workers’ attitudes towards retirement planning and pensions savings. Key findings are:
- Workers’ awareness and interest in pensions varied depending on their age, with younger people seeing retirement as a far-off goal
- Pension providers could boost engagement by offering relevant information and assistance when people faced financial shifts and/or major life events.
- People ignored pensions when they felt it was too early to think about them, if they lacked knowledge or information about the pension system, and if they had other financial priorities to deal with
- The start of a new calendar and tax year were the best times to send information about pensions, with people preferring to receive this once a year
New survey indicates employers are still struggling to recruit suitable candidates
According to the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook released by the CIPD, there are ongoing difficulties in candidate attraction and recruitment. This conclusion is based on a survey of over 2,000 senior HR professionals. Within the surveyed organisations:
- 38% still have vacancies that are hard to fill
- 21% expect significant challenges in filling their roles in the next six months
- 18% of employers in the public sector expect their employee numbers to decrease, which is double the proportion compared to the private sector (9%)
- One in ten respondents anticipate reducing their headcount within the next three months, with 18% planning to make redundancies
- a third of employers still expect their employee base to grow.
Flexible working more important than pay rise for UK employees
A new survey conducted by payroll and HR software company PayFit has found that almost half of the respondents would reject a 15% pay increase if it meant losing workplace flexibility. The survey also showed that 83% felt that their current employer's flexible working policies needed improvement.
The survey comes ahead of changes to the flexible working regime which come into force on April 2024, and will give employees the right to request flexibility in their working hours, times and locations from the start of their employment.
New expense and benefits rates published
HMRC has published the rates and thresholds for employers for 2024-25.
Read more – March 2024
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