#primary-school

#primary-school

Each week more than 50 people sit in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College with one thing on their mind.Timers primed, children and adults face one another with 16 intricate playing pieces to hand.They show up regardless of the weather to play a pastime going through a boom period across the UK - chess.

The Mayor of London said that making the scheme universal will mean no primary-age child will feel the shame and embarrassment of being labelled a free school meal child'.The year-long scheme will cover all primary school children in the capital for the 2023/24 academic year.It is expected to benefit around 270,000 primary school children who do not already receive free school meals, and save families around 440 per child across the year.

T here are now two children for every childcare place in London, new analysis suggests, highlighting the dire state of provision in the capital.Research found that there were 1,226 fewer registered places in London compared with 2021, which was heaping extra pressure on working parents who were struggling to find affordable care.

Nottingham remained a city in grief on Thursday, still yet to come to terms with a tragedy that shocked the country.Thousands turned out to pay tribute to two 19-year-old students and a school caretaker who were brutally killed in a knife and van rampage.A vigil at the city's Market Square heard the families of each victim take to the stage to pay tribute to their loved ones, while local leaders called for unity in the wake of the deadly attacks.

A primary school in a Welsh seaside town which set up a pay-what-you-can food shop, launderette and uniform shop to support struggling families is in the running for a global education prize.Cadoxton Primary School, in Barry, south Wales, is one of six schools in the UK which are on the top 10 shortlists for the T4 Education World's Best School prizes more than any other country in the world.

The amount of childcare for which families on benefits can claim back will increase by hundreds of pounds from the end of June, under government's plans to tackle inactivity and help grow the economy.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to raise the amount on 28 June, meaning parents eligible for help through Universal Credit will be able to claim back up to 951 for one child and 1,630 for two or more children.

The amount of childcare for which families on benefits can claim back will increase by hundreds of pounds from the end of June, under Government's plans to tackle inactivity and help grow the economy.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to raise the amount on June 28, meaning parents eligible for help through Universal Credit will be able to claim back up to 951 for one child and 1,630 for two or more children.

There have been moments this year when both sides in the interminable rail dispute have made positive sounds, suggesting a resolution could be close.But as Mick Whelan, leader of Aslef, holds forth from his desk at the train drivers' union HQ, it becomes clear this is not one of them.Pay talks have foundered and Whelan is fuming at the rail firms and the government, whose dead hand he sees as sabotaging progress: I've never dealt with such dissembling, deceitful, disingenuous, dishonourable people in my 38 years of operating on all levels of this industry.

The price of school lunches has increased by more than a third in parts of England, increasing the pressure on school finances and family budgets during the cost of living crisis, according to figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats.Families with two children can be facing a bill for more than 1,000 a year for school lunches, a rise of more than 200 since 2019, because of inflation and rising energy and staff costs, according to the party's estimates.

By the time children start school in the UK, those from low-income backgrounds are already an average of four months behind their peers in terms of educational development.The gap only widens from there.By the end of primary school, it's nine months.By the time they take their GCSEs, 18 months.Inequality grows exponentially throughout childhood, gaining momentum with every year a child gets older.

School leaders in England are concerned that the government is cutting back on school building refurbishment and repairs despite the Department for Education's recent disclosure that there was a critical very likely risk of buildings collapsing.The NASUWT union said the budget this week had cut the DfE's capital expenditure limits by 400m, from 6.3bn allocated in last November's autumn statement to 5.9bn.