Children’s screen time: The Government intervenes again One of the Government’s more palatable interventions in family life is the recently issued ‘new screen time guidance for the parents of under-fives’. The guidance was issued on the strength of a report by the ‘Early Years Screen Time Advisory Group’, which was led by Dame Rachel De…
On April 1st, the National Education Union, passed a motion to prevent ‘censorship’ in UK schools. Speaking about the motion, the General Secretary, Daniel Kebede, said: “Fostering a love of reading, a thirst for knowledge, and an interest in the world around us is at the very heart of a good education system. Reading a…
Update on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill The imminent passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will mean that parents in England and Wales will soon be required to register any home‑educated child with their local authority. This applies both to children newly withdrawn from school and to those already being educated at…
Alice May Oseman is the widely acclaimed author of several books written for children. She is also the executive producer of a Netflix show based on one of her bestselling graphic novel series, ‘Heartstopper.’ It seems that Alice Oseman has some specific ideas about what pronouns she likes; the biography on her website features an…
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), 2026: how does it respond to gender extremism? In December 2023 the Conservative Government published draft non-statutory guidance about ‘gender questioning children’ in schools, which contained relatively sensible advice, such as that ‘Primary school aged children should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns used about them’(p.13). The…
When Cohesion becomes Control: home education and the politics of social cohesion. The Government’s new policy paper, published on 9 March 2026 and titled ‘Protecting What Matters: Towards a Confident, Cohesive, Resilient United Kingdom’, sets out a series of proposed measures to counter extremism by reinforcing what it calls ‘social cohesion.’ In the opening paragraphs,…
The CSW70 Zero Draft: An attack on women, families and children. The 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) began on 9th March 2026 and international delegates are turning their attention to the Zero Draft of the Agreed Conclusions. Originally circulated on 23 January 2026, this document outlines a global strategy…
‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ – the new Government education white paper. On 23rd February 2026 the Government released a ‘white paper’ entitled ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving.’ There are 7 chapters spread across two parts. Part 1 is titled ‘setting every child up to succeed’ and Part 2 is titled ‘stronger foundations to deliver…
On 11th February 2026, the Ministry of Justice announced that they have launched a ‘strategy’ to tackle the rise in knife crime among children and young people. The strategy proposes to place every child caught carrying a knife on an ‘action plan’ with the aim of guiding them away from a life of crime. Deputy…
On 21st January 2026 the House of Lords voted in support of Lord Nash’s amendment to the ‘Children, Schools and Wellbeing Bill’, which would ban the use of social media for children under the age of 16. A few days previously, on 19th January, the Government announced that it was launching a consultation on the…
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