Writing in Schools Week, Katharine Birbalsingh, headmistress at Michaela Community School, outlines why she is stepping down as chair of the Social Mobility Commission. She writes: "It's been a successful year and I leave the team in great shape - but my presence is only holding the Commission back." Alun Francis OBE has today been named the new interim chair of the Social Mobility Commission.

Ministers have unveiled plans to bring in a new law that would keep schools open during strikes, as teachers prepare to vote on industrial action next week. The proposals would introduce minimum service levels across key public sectors, including education, in an attempt to avoid mass walkouts. By Nick Gutteridge, Louisa Clarence-Smith and Laura Donnelly, The Telegraph.

The Government has announced a £2.6 million careers initiative for 55 education "cold spots" in England where school outcomes are the weakest. The move will see primary school pupils in years 1, 2 and 3 given age-appropriate lessons designed to introduce them to a variety of careers, training and skills, and inspire them about the working world. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

The former home secretary Priti Patel is one of up to 30 Conservative ministers calling on the Government to introduce powers to jail social media directors who fail to protect children from online harms. Ms Patel is supporting an amendment to the Online Safety Bill that would see named directors at tech firms jailed for up to two years for failing to comply with legal duties to protect children from harms such as child abuse, suicide and self harm. By Charles Hymas, The Telegraph.

Figures obtained by Tes have revealed that as many as three-quarters of safeguarding referrals from schools are resulting in no further action being taken by local authorities. The magazine investigates why this could be, and explores why some schools and trusts feel the safeguarding referral process is becoming "increasingly fraught and difficult". By Irena Barker and Helen Chapman.

Writing in Schools Week, Mark Boylan, a professor of education at Sheffield Hallam University, considers the prime minister's recent maths proposal and says that, although it has had a mixed reaction, it does offer an opportunity to rethink how the subject is approached.

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence programme forbidden by schools in New York, could put an end to homework, according to Elon Musk. The programme can produce fast, accurate pieces of work that mimic a particular requested style of writing, but has been banned from school devices by the city’s education department amid fears it could be used by children to write essays and answer questions. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has declined to back his predecessor's pledge to axe fees for all university students, citing the “damage that has been done” to the economy. Jeremy Corbyn had promised to end tuition fees but, speaking yesterday, Sir Keir said instead that he will give a “cast iron guarantee” all manifesto pledges would be “fully funded” ahead of the next election. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

According to figures gathered by the BBC, nearly a third of university courses have continued to combine face-to-face teaching with online learning in 2022-23. Data from 50 of the 160 universities surveyed shows 28 per cent of courses are being taught in a hybrid way, compared with 4.1 per cent in 2018-19 before the pandemic. By Nathan Standley, BBC News.

Data from UCAS, the admissions service, has shown that Scotland’s university access attainment gap has widened, as SNP ministers are accused of “betraying” the most disadvantaged students. The figures have revealed that the difference between the most and least deprived pupils being accepted into university had increased by 50 per cent since 2018. By Rebecca McCurdy, The Times.

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