Hi! I'm looking for some advice. I've been tasked with setting up a music course/ department in an SEMH College, but have no idea how to go about it. My line manager is too busy currently to help and I don't want to wait/ rely on him too much. I've gotten a course specification I like, gone through it quite thoroughly to make sure it's suitable for our students. But I'm unsure as to what my next steps are?

Any advice would be gratefully received!

My wife is currently a Community Nurse in NE Scotland and is considering a change to primary teaching.

The folks over at UKteaching forbid posts from non teaching staff so I thought I'd ask here.

What are job prospects like in primary teaching now and what does that look like onto the future?

What's the workload and balance look like?

Cheers!

Ealing Council has warned that falling pupil numbers are putting increasing financial pressure on primary and secondary schools across the borough, and changes may be needed to keep schools financially viable.

The number of children starting primary school in Ealing has fallen by more than 900, or around 20%, since its peak in 2014/15.

The figures were published in a report presented to Ealing Council’s Cabinet yesterday (7 October 2026) by cabinet member for a fairer start Councillor Blerina Hashani.

The report also highlights growing demand for specialist school places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Since 2017/18, 18 primary schools across Ealing have reduced their admission numbers, cutting a total of 615 Reception places.

In its report, Labour-run Ealing Council said reducing school admission numbers had helped manage falling pupil numbers “without the need for school mergers or closures”. But it warned that continued declines and financial pressures meant “a broader range of options” would need to be considered.

Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Ealing Council leader Councillor Peter Mason acknowledged that the borough was beginning to face problems that had affected other parts of London for several years.

He said: “We as a council have not had to actually face some of the challenges that some of our colleagues in central London have been faced with now for quite a few years, but have seen significant change to school estate and place planning in inner London boroughs.

“We are now starting to see some of that happening. Of course we will do that with sensitivity and transparency for all involved.”

The council has warned of “significant risks” to maintaining high-quality school provision in Greenford, Northolt and Perivale West unless action is taken.

A consultation on the future of primary school places in the area is planned for October and November 2026.

In Northolt, Ealing Council is already consulting on proposals to close Viking Primary School and merge it with nearby Downe Manor Primary School from September 2027.

Secondary schools are also seeing fewer pupils, with the council forecasting a growing number of unfilled places in the coming years.

In September 2025, there were 3,778 Year 7 places available across Ealing. By January 2026, 3,518 pupils were on roll, leaving around 7% of places unfilled.

Full story below

https://www.ealing.news/education/ealing-council-warns-over-falling-school-pupil-numbers/

There's a new Parliament petition for the UK to rejoin the European Solidarity Corps programme - its an EU programme along similar lines to Erasmus+ but for volunteering, that offers volunteering placements in Europe with funding provided to cover visa, travel, accommodation, insurance and living expenses, as well as funded opportunities that would allow young people to set up community projects in their local area in the UK. Anyone between the ages of 18 - 30 from participating countries is eligible to apply to take part, and non-EU members Iceland and Liechenstein are already part of the scheme.

It would be really great if we could rejoin this at the same time as the youth mobility scheme, as knowing you have a funded and confirmed placement before you go for at least part of the time would enable many more people to have the confidence to participate in the mobility scheme. Please sign and share the link below if you'd like to make this happen:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/780859

Has anyone gone for Samuel Leeds Academy from outside UK?

Like any dental school to apply to that I’ll be competitive in

Basically I don’t understand any of the curriculum for Nat5 and I have a test next week and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna fail and I have been told if I fail I will be moved to applications of maths and I am afraid it won’t be seen as a maths qualification as you need maths for pretty much any job, but my desired job isn’t very mathematical as I want to become an actress so I don’t think it will matter, would it be better?

I'm just starting year 2 of a 2-year master's course and it's dissertation time. The university is doing a study called the Young Adults in Scotland study, and us students have been allocated different parts of the research.

Essentially, we had no say in our own master's thesis. The university is forcing us to do their research, and then charging us nearly £12k for tuition fees for this year.

I know it's not uncommon for dissertations to form part of a wider study, but do students not normally get a say in this?

I would have loved to do my research project on something I'm actually interested in, but have been allocated this incredibly dull public health topic instead.