Illustration of an individual sitting at a desk with head in hands, and a door with bars visible in the background.

Opinion

School exclusion, child imprisonment and a state of punishment

A psychologist, who has worked with children in Bristol’s secure estate and pupil referral units, says the way England treats struggling children makes them believe they’re destined for failure.

‘Collective power is where it’s at’: City Academy workers celebrate strike action successes

Police and council defend safeguarding app after calls to stop collecting info on vulnerable young people

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs

Listen: Bristol Unpacked, with councillor Christine Townsend on taking on the Merchant Venturers over educational inequality

Green councillor and education rights campaigner Christine Townsend on fighting discriminatory school selection practices and the prospect of taking power in Bristol.

Reports

Funding reinstated for SEND charity at heart of council social media spying row

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs

Listen: Bristol Unpacked on raising the next generation through a nursery crisis, with local head teacher Sam Williams

‘Academic and support staff are suffering – it’s time for universities to dip into their rainy day funds’

University of Bristol staff deserve a pay rise after years of real-terms cuts, so why won’t it lift salaries? Recent growth is unsustainable, and investing in pay could help not just workers but local businesses and the city.

Progress on Bristol’s SEND failings but relationships with parents still troubled, inspectors find

Report by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission says now up to government to decide next steps, as inquiry into alleged social media spying looms.

‘Childcare costs prevent countless ambitious women from fulfilling their potential’

Across the UK, mums have been protesting against our broken childcare system. We need urgent change to enable women to work, train and progress in their jobs without constant pressure, a local nursery worker argues.

As the childcare crisis fuels inequality for women and children, mums are demanding action

The childcare system is at breaking point both in Bristol and nationally, with mothers being forced out of the workforce as costs rise and provision shrinks.

Charities distance themselves from council review into ‘spying’ on SEND parents’ social media

As councillors prepare to vote on an independent inquiry into alleged online surveillance of parents of children with special educational needs, third parties named in an internal report have challenged the council's narrative.

‘We don’t want children leaving school illiterate’: how schools need to step up for dyslexic students

Mike Jones was bullied at school in the 1970s because he couldn't spell his name. Almost four decades later, he developed a program that now helps thousands of dyslexic children learn.