This week I report on a new government taskforce established to tackle teacher workload, the DfE’s response to the Commons Education Select Committee report on CEIAG, as well as the publication of Ofsted subject reports for Geography, PE and Music.

New taskforce established to tackle teacher workload
The government has set up a taskforce consisting of unions, teachers and sector leaders, with the aim of reducing teachers’ working hours by five hours per week within three years. The wider plan includes additional proposals such as the release of a new toolkit later this month to help school leaders implement flexible working practices in their schools.

Careers: Schools will be expected to report Gatsby progress
The DfE has responded to the Commons Education Select Committee’s report on careers education, information, advice and guidance, announcing that secondary schools will be expected to report their progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks for careers provision at least once a year under planned changes to the statutory guidance.

The department has also revealed that the government will publish a Strategic Action Plan for Careers in 2024 and create a digital “front door” this autumn to make it easier “to navigate and source information and advice on careers and opportunities”.

Ofsted publishes subject reports for Geography, PE and Music
The reports draw on sample visits to primary and secondary schools as follows:

• Geography – the report shows how the teaching of geography in England’s schools has improved since the previous report 12 years ago. Inspectors found that knowledge was better sequenced compared to the previous report, but that opportunities to learn via fieldwork was still lacking overall.
• PE – the report sets out recommendations to improve PE provision in schools. Overall, it was found that most schools have time to provide a broad and ambitious PE curriculum, and many pupils understood the social and mental health benefits associated with physical exercise.
• Music – the report found that leaders in most primary schools ensured that pupils had adequate time to learn music but that the curriculum time allocated to music in KS3 was more varied.