National Secular Society to launch court action after failure to investigate alleged breaches of academic freedom laws

A university regulator in England has failed to investigate potential breaches of laws protecting academic freedom at a dozen theological colleges and is now facing legal action, the Guardian has learned.

The National Secular Society says it is preparing to pursue the Office for Students (OfS) through the courts to act on complaints first made five years ago, arguing that the colleges are ineligible for public funding or government-backed student loans because of their commitment to theological doctrine.

Rudeness, social media posts and AI-generated complaints among issues harming staff wellbeing, union survey finds

Teachers are used to outbreaks of rudeness and defiance from their pupils, but are now saying parents are some of the worst offenders and affecting staff mental health, according to a headteachers’ union.

More than 90% of headteachers and other senior leaders said they had been on the receiving end of “challenging behaviour” from parents including rude or disrespectful responses, while 60% have had verbal abuse and threats within the past 12 months, according to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).

Adam Tickell, of University of Birmingham, says money is loaned to people who ‘are not really capable of graduating’

A leading vice-chancellor has questioned whether students without A-levels should be eligible for government-backed student loans, as part of an effort to solve England’s university funding crisis.

Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham, said universities face an “almost existential challenge” and falling public support that requires a radical review of higher education funding.

Experts say trusted adults must be brave and discuss issue or risk children looking for answers from unsafe sources

Teachers and parents in the UK need to be brave and discuss Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes with children and young people or risk them looking for answers from dubious or dangerous sources, according to experts who will host the first public seminar for schools on the issue.

Thrive, the education consultancy hosting the online seminar on the convicted child sex offender, said: “Many children and young people are encountering this material often without context, warnings or adult support, leaving educators to manage the emotional and safeguarding impact in real time.”

White paper proposes changing criteria under which schools get funding to support the most disadvantaged students

Plans to halve the attainment gap between the poorest pupils in England and their more affluent peers will be set out by the government on Monday.

The schools white paper will detail proposals to change the criteria under which schools receive funding to support the most disadvantaged students.

Survey by disability charity finds 45% of parents of children with complex needs ‘worried support will be taken away’

• ‘We’ve fought so hard’: family’s worry as England’s Send overhaul looms

Parents of disabled children fear that the government’s reforms to special needs education in England could mean they lose vital support, according to a new survey that highlights the high stakes facing ministers.

The poll of 1,000 parents of children with multiple complex needs including deaf-blind, autism and physical impairment, carried out for the disability charity Sense, found that half of the parents surveyed “feel nervous” about the upcoming reforms, and 45% said they were “worried my child’s support will be taken away” in any changes.

Exclusive: Trinity Hall’s new policy described as a ‘slap in the face’ for state-educated students

A Cambridge college is to target the recruitment of students from elite private schools, interrupting decades of efforts to boost access for state-educated and disadvantaged pupils, the Guardian has learned.

Fellows at Trinity Hall college last month approved a policy to approach a small group of private schools, including St Paul’s Girls, Eton and Winchester, to improve the “quality” of students applying, claiming that “reverse discrimination” was a concern.

Lucy Morville, from Burnley, thought most students would be from the north and felt ‘culture shock’ surrounded by southerners

Like many students from the north, Lucy Morville says she felt “culture shock” at being surrounded by southerners when she arrived at university. But she said the shock was even greater because it wasn’t what she expected when she enrolled at the University of York.

“I hadn’t travelled much down south before university, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re all from London and Cambridge.’ It was such a shock to me,” she said.

Prof Shitij Kapur says there are too many graduates and degree is now just a ‘visa’ to enter professional world

The UK now has a “surfeit” of graduates and students must accept that a university degree is no longer a “passport to social mobility”, a leading vice-chancellor has argued.

Prof Shitij Kapur, the head of King’s College London, said the days when universities could promise that their graduates were certain to get good jobs are over, in an era where nearly half the population enters higher education.

Deal agreed to rejoin exchange programme in 2027, fulfilling Labour election manifesto pledge

Young people across the UK will be able to study or gain work experience through the EU’s Erasmus scheme for the first time since Brexit, after the government announced an agreement to rejoin at a cost of £570m.

The scheme, known officially as Erasmus+, will be reopened to those involved in education, training, culture and sport from 2027, after discussions in London and Brussels to fulfil a Labour election manifesto pledge.

Numbers taking languages at A-level and beyond has been falling for decades, although Duolingo says young people are using its app more than their elders

Universities are blaming a “societal shift” for the axing of dozens of foreign language degrees and even entire departments, citing a lack of demand among students – but can years of study be easily replaced by AI or online translation tools?

Not so, according to Michael Lynas, the UK country director for the Duolingo language app, who argues there is no good substitute for the hard graft of learning a language as a way of seeing another country’s culture from the inside.