The UK government has found a new target. But the public don’t buy it, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

UCL Institute for Education finds 88% of TAs supported vulnerable and key worker children in school

Campaigners want examination boards to give back half of fees after decision to scrap A-levels and GCSEs

The education secretary has ruined exam results for thousands of young people. Next week, with GCSEs, things could be even worse

Suspended for wearing the wrong socks: there’s no way this is ‘preparing children for the world of work’, says business academic André Spicer

Exclusive: children should be having fun with friends instead of extra lessons, say experts

TUC survey finds teaching staff perform the most unpaid overtime of any profession, losing out on £15,000 a year each

Family of headteacher who killed herself calls on Amanda Spielman to resign over inadequate response to coroner’s verdict

Current laureate Cressida Cowell leads demands to ringfence funds to renew ‘deteriorating’ facilities that fail to appeal to students

Scientists say air purifiers would help stop virus spreading in schools as fears grow of teacher shortages

Researcher Jess Wade says efforts to attract girls into science are not evidence-based – and are not working

Many children have benefited from working at their own pace online. Now Gavin Williamson must give every pupil the tools to do so

For ‘deeper reading’ among children aged 10-12, paper trumps screens. What does it mean when schools are going digital?

Families homeschooling in lockdown are discovering the full horror of the primary grammar curriculum – and they’re mystified

Secondary school pupils to learn life-saving skills and defibrillator use from 2020 in roll-out of government plans

The reopening of schools doesn’t seem to be about safety or learning – so what is it about?

Open windows are recommended to combat Covid – but where is the government money to keep schools warm?

Michael Gove set fire to every initiative related to pupils’ wellbeing - yet in families’ hour of need it’s teachers stepping in

Scrambling for devices and dashing naked from the shower: lockdown 2 has created new hurdles for families – and schools

University College London, UK’s largest campus, defies official call for earlier return

Interview Diane Reay grew up on a council estate, the eldest of eight, and became a Cambridge professor. Now she wants to talk about inequality in education

Issues such as obesity are better handled in the home, says Amanda Spielman

Please reassure us schools will be safe and you will soon be on top of the GCSE and A-levels situation this year

Clear instructions are lacking in how students, staff and parents are meant to behave or dress when schools in England reopen

Revolt grows as students prepare for results day, with some schools seeing 50% or more of grades revised down

Figures show government is well short of 26,360 target amid crisis in teacher recruitment and retention

With mental health problems on the rise in classrooms, we’re bringing happiness inspectors into schools and developing a GCSE in wellbeing

Lib Dems say minister is ‘out of excuses’ and Labour calls for results system to be scrapped

Our elite schools foster emotional austerity and fierce clique loyalty. Here a privately educated writer of the prime minister’s generation reveals the lasting damage public schools do

Historian says ignorance and indifference between UK nations could pose biggest threat to future of union

One in four teachers tell union they sought medical help because of pandemic impact

Doctors say teachers in England ‘absolutely right’ to prioritise testing over 1 June return

A new era needs to value teachers and end the tyranny of tests and ruthless competition for league table places

Pupils who ask lots of questions get better results, especially those from poorer homes

Bone-headed reforms and deep cuts have left our education system in a scandalous state of disrepair, writes Guardian columnist John Harris

Jess Phillips says government has not taken issue seriously, five years after committee’s report

Williamson and Ofqual apologise, scrapping standardisation model after outcry

Pausing the pension triple lock and spending the money on school counselling would allow a mental health reset

Heads warn that education system faces paralysis as staff and students forced to stay home

Daily newspaper is new joy for Kuttiyamma, who began taking lessons from her neighbour a year ago

Judging by the education secretary’s speech, ‘behaviour, behaviour, behaviour’ could be the Tories’ next election slogan

Why should we only have one chance for further education at 18, asks Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

Generosity of spirit can play a pivotal role in the classroom – perhaps someone should tell the education secretary

Bradford-born singer who relied on free school lunches urges PM to extend provision to all families on universal credit

The focus on targets is restricting creativity in the classroom – but schools can still find space for self-expression

Grime artist to pay tuition fees for more undergraduates from minority ethnic backgrounds

Children are being taught that there are right and wrong answers in poems

Blogger and ‘edupreneur’ Ross Morrison McGill tells Liz Lightfoot about his mission to inspire teachers – and surviving childhood sexual abuse

I’ve had a twinge of sympathy for you after the row over ‘catch-up’ for children’s lost education during lockdowns

It’s never too late to learn, says 50-year-old Shade Ajayi, who attends Ilorin grammar school in Kwara state, Nigeria

Sussex headteacher says funding cuts are ‘condemning kids to a lack of opportunity’

Education secretary’s call for parents to complain if not happy with remote learning prompts deluge of positive comments

Britain is scarcely ‘one nation’, nor does it have ‘open doors’ or ‘celebrate differences’ as the new anthem claims

Local authorities are exploring how using outdoor space could optimise physical distancing

It’s time to listen to teachers and heads who are calling for primary tests to be suspended because of coronavirus

The government wants to link university funding to graduate pay. But why not reward work with local communities instead?

With mental health problems on the rise in classrooms, we’re bringing happiness inspectors into schools and developing a GCSE in wellbeing

Gavin Williamson’s plan to create ‘behaviour hubs’ for schools is as dispiriting as it is predictable and unimaginative, says Carolyne Willow of Article 39

Prospect of resuming lessons while dealing with safety issues is leading to high anxiety levels Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage

One predecessor was sued for libel. Another thought state schools were for training butlers. But the current minister has plenty to his discredit

The exhausted head of a school in England wonders how much more he can take

The world’s first professor of play – funded by Lego – is being sought by Cambridge University. What is the job description?

Exchange scheme will ‘fill the gaps’ left by Boris Johnson’s Turing programme, which ‘lacks key benefits’

Teachers reveal impact of austerity – and say it is getting worse

Nether Kellet primary pupils will spend week gardening, building campfires and making memories

Too many teachers think boys can’t do as well as girls, says the teacher on a mission to change attitudes

Teaching young people skills such as active listening, self-awareness and empathy can equip them to succeed both academically and socially

Parents, teachers, carers and children have been telling you for years that there’s a crisis

As a former soldier in Afghanistan I know the importance of morale, and your divisive rhetoric is undermining us, says teacher Gary Collins

‘Unconditional positive regard’ towards even badly behaved pupils is growing in popularity

Ex-Coronation Street star backs Durham commission’s call for arts to be taught to all children

Schools minister says A-level being developed by Pearson exam board will be available from September – and statistics survives too

Process for challenging grades on basis of mock results ‘being reviewed’, says exams regulator for England

When Kevin Payne quit teaching he wanted to tell pupils – and the government – that school is not just about tests and targets

People are yearning for a new educational age, says Sir Tim Brighouse in his new book with Mick Waters

Labour calls on PM to cancel planned break as Tory MPs deluged with complaints

Exclusive: NASUWT threatens legal action to defend teachers against forced restart on 1 June

Politicians want history syllabus re-examined after Black Lives Matter protests

Classrooms returning to normal is a priority. But why not create a ‘new normal’, fuelled by lessons learned in lockdown?

Letter to UK education secretary warns of impact of coronavirus lockdown on children

Initial call for protest came after family of headteacher Ruth Perry said she took her own life after news of lowest rating

Research finds link with ability grouping at age seven and continuing hyperactivity and emotional problems

‘Unmanageable’ workloads, stress and levels of trust in teachers from public and government key factors

Experts to also recommend longer half-term breaks in proposed overhaul of school calendar ‘in place since Victorian times’

Schools reopen next week and rules on rotas in case of local Covid-19 outbreaks were published on Friday

Oxford professor says institutions are being forced to reopen but fears student arrivals on campus will trigger Covid-19 outbreaks

From Zoom nativity plays to delivering track and trace, it has been the most stressful school term ever

It is time to change the education system before we have no one left in the classroom except the children, says headteacher Jeremy Hannay

Gavin Williamson has spent the pandemic being guided by populist politics rather than children’s education

Schools need support, not trials led by unsympathetic inspectors who don’t take Covid into account

Even Einstein was unexceptional in his youth. Now a new book questions our fixation with IQ and says adults can help almost any child become gifted

Last year the football star twice fought Boris Johnson on food poverty – and won 2-0. Now he has a new goal: helping the 383,000 British kids who have never owned a book

The new education secretary needs to think what childhood means before acting on Ofsted’s report of reception children ‘falling behind’

The government needs new ways to attract more teachers if it’s not willing to fund a competitive salary