In Depth:  education

Nicola Laver

Maths teacher Joshua Sutcliffe has lost his appeal against a ruling banning him indefinitely from teaching.

Sutcliffe was dismissed after deliberately failing to use a pupil’s preferred pronouns in the classroom and on TV. He had also shared with pupils his views about gay marriage and homosexuality.

Nicola Laver

Truancy has dropped by a staggering 96% after a Welsh evangelical church launched a new ‘learning hub’ with a nearby school.

The hub was opened in June by Noddfa Evangelical Church and Abersychan Comprehensive School and combines academic teaching and broader ‘Life Skills’. So far, 20 school pupils have registered with the hub.

Nicola Laver

The imposition of VAT on private school fees threatens the survival of small Christian schools, which are ‘worlds away from the Harrows and Etons of this world’, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) is warning.

Meanwhile, the head of a small private school says Christian parents are being punished, and has challenged the church to support families and Christian education.

Nicola Laver

As the Autumn term across England and Wales begins, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) has expressed concern about uncertainty around the draft relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance.

The draft guidance, published in May, includes clear age limits for teaching the most sensitive content, and states that the ‘broader concept of gender identity’ should not be taught. If published, the final guidance would be statutory.

Nicola Laver

A Welsh comprehensive school is being investigated after the National Secular Society (NSS) complained it is teaching creationism and promoting evangelical Christianity to pupils.

The NSS criticised Llanidloes High School, Powys for teaching creationism and displaying posters combining educational content with Scripture verses – material NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said amounts to an ‘extensive campaign of evangelism’.