Samantha Booth
@samanthajbooth
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Chief reporter @SchoolsWeek • SEND, exams, catch up, mental health • Paul Foot award nominee & BJA highly commended • mental health 1st aider • Sam is fine
Herts (via Crewe, London)
Joined November 2010
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Pinned Tweet
What an honour!
@WilliamJHague
@mattholehouse
@TheEconomist
Highly commended in the Specialist Journalism category is
@samanthajbooth
@SchoolsWeek
for her work on special schools and inclusivity at mainstream schools
#BJA2023
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V pleased that from today I’m
@SchoolsWeek
’s chief reporter. Thanks so much
@JohndickensSW
@shanermann
As ever, pls do keep getting in touch with your stories from the frontline in schools
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Am a 10/10 cliche and realise women can propose any day, but I did it anyway yesterday and thank god he said yes
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After four years in local news, this is my last before I join
@SchoolsWeek
as a senior reporter. I've learnt so much in my two years at
@NewJournal
/
@IslingtonTrib
and I'm thankful for everyone who has made London feel like home
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Investigation: Severely disabled pupils were left hungry and 'contained' in classrooms during breaks because of chronic understaffing at a special school, despite its small academy trust sitting on reserves of nearly £6m
A truly harrowing story
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🤫 And herein lies the story of how I waited 2.5 years - 890 days - for these 8 words to be released by the Cabinet Office
An exasperating Freedom of Information battle which includes government taking the case to court before suddenly dropping it ⬇️
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Frankly blown away by this. So glad stories on the realities of the SEND system have cut through because it’s not going anywhere
Thanks to all those experts, families and heads that have trusted me over the past few years
Look how strong the shortlist is for the inclusion award category - super proud, but also well deserved, for Sam
She’s delivered huge impact with her stories - including pushing DfE to get a grip of special school capacity crisis and ensuring they get vital funding 👊
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The year is 2005 and I've just had my Nokia flip phone confiscated in RE because mobile phones were banned in my school
Classic conference announcement this. Something nearly all schools already do and that the government can't force them to do anyway.
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I'm told a press notice being issued shortly with further information.
Not clear currently if teachers will be exempt from the threshold increase
There are no details available anywhere about these immigration announcements that have a huge impact on individuals and businesses. Shambles as per usual.
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In response to those Gavin Williamson & Matt Hancock texts, heads union ASCL said their covid response was ‘an absolute shambles and the two individuals involved in these snide insults were at the heart of that shambles’
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Hundreds turned out to Streets Fest in Finsbury Park today - a one-stop shop free service for the homeless to have haircuts, health check ups and given new clothes and free food. Hopefully first of many, says Jon from organising group
@streetskitchen
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🕳️Ministers promised parents can be 'confident' schools have the resources they need after a £2bn boost
But I dig into the data to expose the collapse of state services brought on by austerity leaving schools to pick up the pieces
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After seven years of being homeless and living life off the radar, former Islington road-sweeper Balvin Marshall found out last week he does have right to stay in the UK under Windrush policy.
Now, his compensation case begins.
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I went to visit Mark & his wife Ngamngon after they were reunited - her deportation was halted just 15 minutes before she was due to board the plane. They thanked everyone who had supported their case, including
@JCWI_UK
, petition signers and readers. Full story in today's CNJ
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Exclusive via
@dutaut
: Headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh has quit as Social Mobility Commission chair, saying her controversial opinions 'puts the commission in jeopardy' and it is doing 'more harm than good'
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After two murder investigations were launched in the same night, just roads away from each other in Camden,
@NewJournal
asks the question today: is this the new normal? Who can, and will, change the story?
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For the last few months, I've been digging into the growing independent special school sector and who the big players are.
It's been hard work but absolutely eye-opening - I won't sum it up here but hopefully my investigation does the job⤵️
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Victory! ICO upheld my complaint & ordered DfE to release reports on National Tutoring Programme data.
This, I think, is key part: 'Providers fortunate enough to be awarded large government contracts should be well aware of the enhanced public scrutiny that is likely to result'
Exclusive: Ministers have been forced to reveal how their flagship tutoring programme performed during its inaugural year after a 15 month freedom of information battle
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It’s been a year since I came off this and wouldn’t hesitate to take it again if I ever needed to.
I just wanted to share on
#WorldMentalHealthDay
to shift any lingering stigma on anti-depressants. As ever, DMs open for chats
It’s nearly time to start coming off this (life-saving) mental health medication.
For anyone who needs to hear it: Don’t be afraid to take the meds! Have the therapy! Life can get better!
And if you ever wanna chat on it, let me know
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My mate, a social worker in north of England, has sent me this after exit poll: “I’m devastated. We’ve lost basic support services for the families most in need. We now have our own foodbank because a lot of our families can’t afford to travel to the ones we used to refer to.”
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I've joined the
@IslingtonTrib
as a senior reporter today - v.exciting. You can reach me on sbooth
@islingtontribune
.co.uk or 0207 424 3249
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Bit of news - before Christmas I’ll be leaving
@CroydonAd
. I’ve had 2 years reporting on the most wonderful patch and have been lucky to meet some amazing people. I’ll be off north of the wall (river) to become a senior reporter on the great
@IslingtonTrib
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Schools Week has been 'gagged' from publishing details of the day rates paid to consultants who will test proposed reforms of the SEND system
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🚨 Emergency motion by NAHT members on Ofsted:
"Conference calls on national executive to communicate to members who are inspectors a request to consider refraining from carrying out inspections until the trade dispute is resolved" 🚨
Follow the debate below ⬇️
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Last day tomorrow before some time off to go and civilly partner (this will never sound romantic) my other half 🎈🍾 ☀️
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On train to East Croydon and a man asks the little boy he’s with: “Do you know anyone who lives in Croydon?”
The boy replied: “Stormzy.”
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The photo does it no justice, but the view from Blackfriars this morning is magnificent
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'This group didn’t have GCSEs, so this is the first time they’ve taken public exams. Their schooling has been decimated, but at the same time they aren’t getting the same allowances as the last two years' -
@Lem_Exeter
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It’s nearly time to start coming off this (life-saving) mental health medication.
For anyone who needs to hear it: Don’t be afraid to take the meds! Have the therapy! Life can get better!
And if you ever wanna chat on it, let me know
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Shook
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Gosh, can't believe this. So honoured families and schools trusted
@StaufenbergJ
and I to tell their stories. And the hours digging through FOIs was worth it. What a day
I am SO proud and chuffed for
@StaufenbergJ
+
@samanthajbooth
-their ‘Kids in Crisis: Revealing the Toll of our Collapsing CAMHS’ investigation has made the Paul Foot Award longlist (an incredible achievement in one of the most competitive journo awards)
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Such a magical and beautifully illustrated children’s book by
@RobGMacfarlane
and
@JackieMorrisArt
- getting a copy for myself
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Formed a civil partnership, travelled by boat to the church, gained a surname, made mad diorama centre pieces and banners, had
@dannycarrier
as our celebrant - job well done ♥️
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Big news on this! After our investigation, DfE has now pledged to collect data on special school capacity from next year.
Currently, there's a gaping hole in data meaning they haven't got a proper handle on how these schools are coping with rising demand
Exclusive: Special school leaders are being forced to cram vulnerable pupils into converted therapy spaces and staffrooms as surging demand and scarce places elsewhere pushes them over capacity. Investigation with
@TBIJ
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Clocking off shortly until the new year, which includes on here too for the most part. See you in '23
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I've got friends really anxious of losing their jobs because they rely on government funding, friends literally losing houses because of mortgage rates - now unable to afford anything else - and friends wiping out savings to pay for energy bills
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You can’t get kids (or anyone for that matter) with anxiety disorders / symptoms back to school just by telling them to go back. It needs patience but most importantly, treatment. If the treatment isn’t available quick enough, then surely most other actions are futile?
The government should create a school absence code specifically for mental health and review the adequacy of health services struggling with soaring waiting lists, MPs have said
@commonsed
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Tomorrow is my last
@IslingtonTrib
deadline, before I move over to the
@NewJournal
side of the desk. Thank you to everyone who helped me or spoke to me over these last 12 months. It's been a great year working alongside
@emifinch
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If you nearly saw me deck it down the stairs at Victoria station this morning, it’s because I’d just seen I’ve been nominated for a
@RegPressAwards
. So has my awesome colleague
@williammclennan
and
@NewJournal
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The outline of a huge mural of two men kissing by
@richsimmonsart
on Surrey Street near
@MatthewsYard
in Croydon
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Hello hi, look at this award winning journalist and newspaper
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At my count - if Coutinho does move - that’s seven children’s ministers since the SEND review was announced in September 2019….
Doesn’t send a great message, does it?
Are we set for a fifth children’s minister in just under two years?
NB: children’s minister has responsibility for the major SEND reforms, and it would be less than ideal (again) for one to come and go so quickly
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I've worked at Schools Week for nearly four years and still spell 'curriculum' wrong more often than not 👍
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@NewJournal
Follows on from our front page in April, after another young man was stabbed to death on Camden's streets
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Couldn't be happier at this. Thank you to the families of the Croydon tram crash victims who let me tell their heart-wrenching stories and the campaigners who helped me investigate in the aftermath - stories here:
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THREAD: The broken special needs system is exposed today in a joint investigation by
@SchoolsWeek
&
@TBIJ
.
#SENTooFar
reveals the scale of the challenge facing ministers - key findings below ⬇️⬇️
Our 6-pg report is free to read -
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The Remembrance Parade dip their Standards to the victims of the Croydon tram crash in New Addington
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Great to see
@BBCNews
banging the drum on the issue of oversubscribed special schools
It's something I uncovered last year through FOIs and led to DfE moving to collect capacity data from special schools (still waiting on that)
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Good start to Conservative conference. Train is delayed as the doors won’t open. Sure someone will find a suitable metaphor here
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❗️Twenty more councils will be forced to make sweeping changes to their special educational needs provision in exchange for government bailouts which now total nearly £1 billion
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Same again at the Town Hall as Labour win all but one seat in council elections
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Educational psychologists went on strike in England and Wales yesterday in a pay and working conditions dispute. Some told me how children with needs were being missed because of how stretched they are, with some kids then being excluded from school.
@AEPsychologists
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I feel like every other question by MPs in the Commons urgent Q today is about SEND funding and the broken system. Clearly very pressing for everyone
Labour has offered little about how it might fix the 'fundamentally broken' SEND system, although it did promise not to 'rip everything up' if elected
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Well that’s a first - door knocked a woman who was in early stages of labour
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@MPSCroydon
@yourcroydon
@cleanstreetstu
@LabourSJ
These two men grew up being in rival gangs in Croydon. Now they're both friends and entrepreneurs
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.
@NAHTnews
president-elect
@simonkidwell
asks conference 'how long can we continue to do more with less?
'How long can we sustain crippling workload pressures that impact on our health and family life? How much longer can we work in a system that prioritises metrics over people'
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I was quite anxious waiting for our wedding pics (growing up with 00s Heat magazine does that to you) but they are the happiest thing I've ever seen
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The mother and cousin of Kwasi Anim-Boadu at the
#operationshutdown
march. Nobody has been charged with his murder as it approaches a year since the attack
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Actor Paul McGann at
@rhylprimary
summer fete with his favourite weekly read. He’s supporting their plans for a garden kitchen 👍🏻
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Flowers from families and friends of the Croydon tram crash victims lining the corner of Addiscombe Road. Very moving
@CroydonAd
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Last weekend’s find from old newspapers stashed in piles around the house 😶🌫️ Jan 31, 2020
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After our front page story, and help from
@DavidLammy
, Windrush victim Balvin Marshall has a meeting about his housing situation today after spending seven years homeless. He meets with the Home Office next week -
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I’m in Westminster for the
#SaveOurSchools
lobby of parliament - a joint lobby by education unions
@ASCL_UK
@NAHTnews
@NEUnion
@NGAMedia
as well as
@unisontheunion
. We’re expected to hear from union leaders and presidents before members go to lobby their MPs
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“He poured everything into his music, all of his experiences, his pain, his love, his regrets and mistakes." Fiancée of hip-hop artist
@Lxsko
pays a moving tribute, remembering him as some who "stood up for the underdog"
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Brother and his mate, aged 21, go to Magaluf on their first holiday together. Brother’s mate gets this tattooed on his leg on the first night
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❗️ The government’s own children’s commissioner Rachel de Souza has warned ministers their reforms to fix the broken SEND system risk 'more years of children being fed' into a 'vicious cycle' of poor outcomes
⏳ The government’s own children’s commissioner has warned ministers their reforms to fix the broken SEND system risk 'more years of children being fed' into a 'vicious cycle' of poor outcomes
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I sat down with new children's minister David Johnston (7th since 2019) to chat SEND. He was appointed a month ago when Coutinho was promoted.
He said the DfE should do much more communication with parents 'because I think they’ve got a lot to teach us'
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@RobynVinter
Yup. It’s my crazy season as I require a dog or my partner to leave the house. Only 69 days until solstice!
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Santa and her neutrally dressed elf are out delivering
@NewJournal
Christmas hampers around Camden today. Wave if you see us!
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Worth remember it was Liz Truss who appointed her... 'by expecting high standards and not indulging the soft bigotry of low expectations she is producing amazing results at Michaela school and giving children the best chance in life'
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Days like today are the reason I got into local journalism. Thoughts are with everyone affected by the Croydon tram crash a year ago today
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Camden & Islington new borough commander
@MPSRajKohli
at his first
@CamdenSNB
meeting - says it feels like he’s “coming home”. He was previously an officer in Camden. “My intention is to be as open and as transparent as possible,” he tells the meeting
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Unreal,
@withoutkatebush
. Basically paid to cry for two hours, particularly at the number of youngsters there. ♥️
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Considering choreographing an interpretive dance to the DfE press office hold music. I've heard it that much this year
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This wk I spoke to parents whose children became critically ill days before exams started.
But they were told they'd still need to sit some exams to get grades.
Parents say now is the time for these children to get 'tried and test' teacher assessed grades, like during Covid
Investigation: Parents of critically ill teenagers who had to sit GCSE exams days after major surgery or chemotherapy are demanding schools are allowed to give 'tried and tested' teacher assessed grades instead
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Big fan of this design done over the weekend in Croydon
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@JCWI_UK
@TulipSiddiq
said: “We are working closely with JCWI to try a last-ditch attempt to make the Home Office see reason."
She said the deportation did not seem like the best use of resources right now
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THIS IS WILD
So, trebles all round for
@SamanthaAsumadu
,
@fleetstreetfox
,
@samanthajbooth
,
@StaufenbergJ
,
@DavidCollinsST
,
@HannahAlOthman
,
@harryfoxdavies
,
@SolHughesWriter
,
@Gabriel_Pogrund
,
@eleanorrose
,
@JessicaPurkiss
,
@MirrenGidda
,
@AaronWala
,
@TownsendMark
… 1/2
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Education secretary
@GillianKeegan
and her ministers will be answering education questions in the Commons shortly. I'll be tweeting the key parts here ⤵️
#eduQs
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Anyone know what the evidence is for ‘one of the biggest issues’ is?
One of the biggest issues children and teachers grapple every day with is the impact of smartphones in schools.
So many schools have already done an amazing job in banning mobile phones.
Now, we’re changing the guidance so other schools follow their lead.
3K
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2K
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BBC following up our scoop on scrapped builds
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The education select committee will be questioning SEND experts, parents and charities this morning on the SEND review and green paper. I'll be tweeting the key parts
#edselctte
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.
@AliFiddy
from
@IPSEAcharity
said the green paper seems to be based on a 'misconception that local variation is permitted' ... 'the problem is that LAs regularly disregard their legal duties'
#edselctte
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Amazing. Come home to a story from my Nan about how last night she intervened in a possible fight -lads were ganged up around a boy outside Aldi so she shouted “hey, what are you doing? ... What would your mothers think?!”
Apparently one replied: “she wouldn’t be very happy”
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@IChamberlain_
coaching young men at
@Croydon_ABC
tonight. I'm here learning about what
@glovesnotgunz
does to help tackle youth violence
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.
@munirawilson
, Lib Dem edu spokesperson, said she was "really quite surprised and shocked at how few people are here for this debate"
👀
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For four months,
@StaufenbergJ
and I have worked on an investigation into the overwhelmed child mental health and special needs systems.
Jess has heartbreaking stories from families on the edge. Please do take time tomorrow to read through - it is harrowing
Edition 276 done and dusted:
@FCDWhittaker
investigates ‘elite’ 6th forms
A special investigation into toll of collapsing mental health support |
@StaufenbergJ
and
@samanthajbooth
@JoJoHutchinson
on levelling up
@vicgoddard
on exam mitigations
A belter before half term 👍
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Am I right in thinking that was a seven minute conference?! The future of our country in seven short minutes
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My nan’s staying with me in London for a few days - her first trip here since the 80s. And she’s so beautiful ♥️
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Thank you to the special school heads that candidly shared their extreme concerns with me this week.
This
@NNSP21
survey also found nearly half of heads were considering their jobs because of the financial climate.
Heads are being urged to write to their MP about the crisis
🔍 Special schools are staring into budget holes as deep as £1.5 million, a Schools Week investigation has found, as heads say 'enough is enough' and launch a national campaign against more cuts
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