Ofsted scraps its one-word grading system
Following the suicide of Caversham Primary School headteacher, Ruth Perry, Ofsted is to scrap its vague one-word rating system. ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’, or ‘Inadequate’ – have been axed with prompt effect. The case of Ruth Perry, the former headteacher of a primary school in Reading, has deeply troubled regulators...
Current in Change
Strikes begin after huge anti-government protests erupt in Israel
The Israeli government is facing pressure for not doing enough to retrieve hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest on Sunday, while widespread labour strikes are planned for the rest of the week. Hundreds of thousands...
Taliban’s first morality law aims to erase women from society
The Taliban's Virtue and Vice law prohibits women from showing their faces and speaking out loud in public. Picture an ordinary day - singing in the shower, reading aloud at home, or perhaps making brief eye contact with someone of the opposite gender while grocery shopping. If you were a woman...
Opinion – ‘man or bear’ debate reflects misogynistic violence
‘Would you rather be stuck in the forest with a man or a bear?’ is the intriguing theoretical discussion that played out on social media in May. Met with nearly complete unanimity among women, many men tellingly reacted with the kind of gaslighting and deflection that’s painfully familiar to...
Ofgem faces backlash over energy price hike
The energy company has announced plans to increase prices by October, just in time for the winter period. Summer in the UK feels like it left as quickly as it arrived. In what seemed like a blink of an eye the leaves are falling, Halloween memorabilia is filling supermarket shelves,...
Black children in England & Wales four times likelier to be strip searched
Following the high-profile case of Child Q, a new report by the children’s commissioner finds a shocking disparity with white counterparts in the year 2023. Child Q, a young 15-year-old black schoolgirl, was unjustifiably and falsely accused of possessing cannabis, then strip searched at school while on her period...
Are UK Universities going bust?
Following a Channel 4 interview, minister for higher education, Baroness Jacqui Smith, has not ruled out the forced closure of UK universities due to a funding crisis. Record numbers of young people are getting their first-choice universities, and more disadvantaged students are getting places this year. This is excellent in terms of social mobility and increasing equality within education. However, these record high numbers highlight something more economically sinister – the...
South Korean activists win climate case against their government
A judge has ruled South Korea’s current climate goals as ‘unconstitutional,’ securing a landmark victory for young environmental activists who launched the case. The first-of-its-kind case in South Asia could set a precedent for other nations in the region. Climate cases are popping up all over the world, but today’s ruling marks the first win of its kind to occur in South East Asia. South Korea’s government has been ordered by...
Are Wizz Air’s new ‘unlimited flights’ a disaster for the planet?
The budget airline is offering a new ‘All You Can Fly’ membership, but how bad is it for the planet, really? Wizz Air, a Hungarian budget airline that offers routes across Europe and parts of the Middle East, has just launched an ‘All You Can Fly’ pass for €599 per year. The membership allows customers to fly as much as they want throughout the year, with a flat fee of...
Can AI help determine when extreme weather is caused by climate change?
Heatwaves are becoming increasingly normal around the world, but not all of them are climate anomalies. Now, researchers have developed new low-cost AI system to help us understand the extent to which the climate crisis is to blame. It’s an undeniable fact that our planet is heating up, despite London’s chilly ‘summer’ weather begging to differ. Meteorologists declared 2023 ‘the hottest year in modern history’ and this year is...
