Month: September 2024

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said she will not hesitate to “take action” where schools are failing. Ms Phillipson said single-phrase inspection headline grades for schools in England are being scrapped with immediate effect as they cannot capture “the entire essence of a school”. She said the death of headteacher Ruth Perry made the need for reform of the inspectorate “absolutely clear”. Mrs Perry took her own life after an […]

The 85 year old two-time Oscar nominee lost his footing during a play’s fight scene in June at the Noel Coward Theatre Sir Ian McKellen says he is looking to “take the rest of the year off” from acting following a fall on stage. The two-time Oscar nominee, 85, lost his footing during a play’s fight scene in June at the Noel Coward Theatre and has since been suffering from wrist and neck […]

More than half of 1,000 UK drivers of conventionally fuelled cars answered no more than two out of 10 questions about electric vehicles correctly Most petrol and diesel car drivers have a “really poor” level of knowledge about electric vehicles (EVs), a survey suggests. More than half (57%) of 1,000 UK drivers of conventionally fuelled cars polled by YouGov answered no more than two out of 10 questions about EVs […]

The shadow communities secretary is currently the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Rishi Sunak Kemi Badenoch will lash out at Labour and call for change in the Conservative Party as she launches her Tory leadership campaign in Westminster. The shadow communities secretary, the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Rishi Sunak, will say her party has to “focus on renewal” to be ready to return to power. She will say the Conservatives “can’t […]

Nearly three-in-five 35 to 54-year-olds who do not own a home may have given up hope of ever getting on the property ladder, research for a building society indicates. A fifth (21%) of 18 to 34-year-olds who are non-homeowners and 58% of those aged 35 to 54 are unsure if they will ever own a home or are not planning to buy one at all, Yorkshire Building Society found. The […]

The NHS has started vaccinating pregnant women and older people against a respiratory virus that can make some people seriously ill. Officials suggest the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) programme could prevent thousands of hospital admissions for babies and elderly people, easing pressure on the NHS in the run-up to the winter months. From September 1, women will be offered the vaccine from 28 weeks of pregnancy to protect themselves and […]

Single-headline Ofsted grades for schools will be scrapped with immediate effect, the Government has announced. Previously, Ofsted awarded one of four headline grades to schools it inspects: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. The announcement follows engagement with the sector and family of headteacher Ruth Perry, after a coroner’s inquest found the Ofsted inspection process had contributed to her death. Mrs Perry took her own life after an Ofsted report […]

The Culture Secretary has called the inflated selling of Oasis tickets “incredibly depressing” as she revealed that surge pricing would be included in a Government review of the secondary gig sales market. Before the furore from Oasis fans over standard tickets more than doubling from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster, the Government had pledged to “bring in protections to stop people being ripped off by touts”. On Sunday, Ms Nandy released a […]

A woman has been charged with murder following the death of a six-year-old boy. Karolina Zurawska, 41, from Gendros, Swansea, will appear before the city’s magistrates court on Monday in connection with the death of Alexander Zurawski. Alexander was found dead at a property in Cwm Du Close, Gendros, on Thursday. Zurawska has also been charged with attempted murder in connection with an incident involving a 67-year-old man earlier on […]