Ellen Peirson-Hagger
@ellencph.bsky.social
1.6K followers 280 following 110 posts
Journalist. Senior writer, tes.com/magazine, covering schools and education policy. Also writing about books and music elsewhere: ellencph.co.uk
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ellencph.bsky.social
A recent report found that 59 per cent of key stage 3 history lessons don’t feature any women. Will the Curriculum Review address that?

In the meantime, I spoke to history teachers about the changes they are making to address this gender imbalance in their classes, for @tesmagazine.bsky.social
Why are women missing from school history?
The extent to which history lessons ignore female figures has been revealed by new research. Here, teachers share the changes they are making to address this gender imbalance
www.tes.com
Reposted by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
tesmagazine.bsky.social
A requirement for new headteachers to hold a SEND qualification could transform the system, because there are schools that currently do not make inclusive decisions, a leading MP said today
Call for heads’ SEND qualification is questioned
MP defends plan to require new school leaders to have expertise in special educational needs, during Labour conference event
www.tes.com
Reposted by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
cerysturner.bsky.social
Excl: The PM claimed yesterday that he had invited other political parties to work with the government on SEND reform, but neither the Lib Dem’s or the Conservatives have received any such invite.

www.tes.com/magazine/new...
PM claim of SEND reform invitation is rejected by opponents
Conservatives and Liberal Democrats reject Sir Keir Starmer’s insistence that he invited political parties to collaborate on SEND reform
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
This week the government pledged to ensure all primary schools in England have libraries. It seems a well-intentioned policy, but do 1,700 primaries really not have one? And how important is a separate library room in instilling a child’s love of reading anyway? My @tesmagazine.bsky.social piece
Does the government primary school library promise add up?
Labour has announced that every primary school will have its own library by 2029, but questions about funding and implementation remain, finds Ellen Peirson-Hagger
www.tes.com
Reposted by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
charlottesantry.bsky.social
Is Ofsted’s inclusion measure fair to over-capacity special schools directed to take pupils whose needs they’re not equipped to meet?

Lots of concern from the specialist sector here inc from @simonknight100.bsky.social and @warrencarratt.bsky.social

Great reporting by @johngroberts.bsky.social
Special schools fear ‘subjective’ Ofsted judgements
Inclusion focus risks ‘danger’ for schools directed to take on pupils whose needs they cannot meet, warns leader
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
Is flexible working truly possible for teachers, and what kind of impact might it have on recruitment and retention?

A year on from launching their nine-day fortnight, Dixons Academies Trust says they have seen countless benefits. I heard about the challenges and rewards of this radical policy
Dixons’ nine-day fortnight: how’s it working a year on?
Since launching its ground-breaking nine-day fortnight a year ago, Dixons Academies Trust says it has seen a drop in staff turnover and sickness absence. Ellen Peirson-Hagger asks about the challenges...
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
Just seven of the 100 schools with the highest rates of disadvantage and the lowest rates of EAL have a positive Progress 8 score.

Leaders say the metric leaves schools in an “impossible situation”. Nick Gibb says it simply reveals which need to “improve”...

Is this system inherently unjust?
The ‘impossible situation’ of Progress 8 in white, working-class schools
Just seven of the 100 schools with the highest rates of disadvantage and the lowest rates of English as an additional language have a positive P8. With the metric on pause, is it time to rethink it?
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
In her new book, Laura Bates describes how deepfake pornography created by students “for free on their lunch breaks” can be used to target their female peers and teachers.

PSHE lead Charli Faux writes for Tes on how to help keep students safe from “the next epidemic of sexual violence”
The ‘next epidemic of sexual violence’ and what it means for schools
AI is creating new threats to girls, and teachers will be on the frontline of it, argues a PSHE lead at an all girls’ school, who shares her advice on how to help keep students safe
www.tes.com
Reposted by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
tesmagazine.bsky.social
#Ofsted has published its final report-card inspection plans, with changes including:

🔹 Reducing the number of evaluation areas to six
🔹 Renaming the grades
🔹 Changing the toolkits inspectors will use

Here’s everything you need to know…
Ofsted: first report-card inspections will be voluntary
Watchdog pushes ahead with plan for a five-point grading scale but announces a series of changes to school inspections launching this term
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
“Unless it goes kaboom, there’s no money.”

Rusting fire escapes, legionella and classrooms reaching 53C... School leaders tell me how the funding crisis is also a vast building safety crisis, with particular concern in special schools
‘Our site is on a knife edge’: the school buildings crisis deepens
Rusting fire escapes, legionella and classrooms that reach 53C: a lack of funding for buildings maintenance is putting pupils and staff at risk, leaders tell Ellen Peirson-Hagger. Will government inte...
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
“What Jon is selling is fear. It’s not scientific.”

Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation has sold 2 million copies and been hugely influential in the case for banning smartphones for young people. But critics say his evidence doesn’t stand up

Fascinating Tes piece by @jonsevers.bsky.social
Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones?
In ‘The Anxious Generation’, Haidt makes the case that social media and smartphones have ‘rewired’ today’s teenagers, but his critics say the evidence tells us something very different - and that bann...
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
On the train to Berlin with an Italian novel and a German chocolate bar. My route: London to Brussels to Frankfurt (usually would be Cologne, impossible today due to works) to Berlin, all in a day
Reposted by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
tesmagazine.bsky.social
From the number of GCSEs entered per student to the most popular subjects, here are six key trends from today’s results data that schools need to know
6 data insights from GCSE results
Looking beyond the headline outcomes from GCSE results day, Tes picks through the data to reveal trends that schools should know about
www.tes.com
Reposted by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
Reposted by Ellen Peirson-Hagger
jasminenorden.bsky.social
New this morning: The regional divide in achieving the top A-level grades has widened as the North East saw a fall in As and A*s this year - all the main trends here: www.tes.com/magazine/new...
A-level results 2025: regional divide grows
Both the proportion of top grades awarded and the pass rate have seen a slight growth in England in 2025
www.tes.com
ellencph.bsky.social
"Over a quarter of pupils are leaving primary school not meeting the expected standard in reading. This goes up to 40 per cent for white, working-class pupils, and 59 per cent for those with special educational needs."

An argument for fixing basic literacy before promoting reading for pleasure...
Fix basic literacy before promoting reading for pleasure
The government’s priority should be helping the many pupils who are behind with their reading - and we know exactly how to do it, writes FFT’s Mike Fischer
www.tes.com