Teach Secondary Issue 13.6

THE SPEECH: Education Secretaryaddresses the EmbasssyEducationConference WHO? Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education WHERE? King’s College London WHEN? 23rd July 2024 “Inmy first weeks as Secretary of State in this new government I have been resetting relationships across the length and breadth of education. I want to refresh old partnerships and grow new ones – not just at home, but around the world too. Closed systems that only look inward quickly run out of ideas. Creativity crumbles, innovation dies, the same thoughts spin round and round and collapse in on themselves. But through our international partners, we can reach out across the world and bring back a freshness of thought that breathes new life into our society. My passion is for an open, global Britain – one that welcomes new ideas. One that looks outward in optimism, not inward in exclusion.We already have deep education partnerships with countless countries around the globe, and I want to buildmore. Whether that’s through British international schools abroad, or cross-border collaboration on skills training. School trips and scholarships, exchange programmes and language learning, policy conversations that span the early years to learners with special educational needs. Education puts us on the path to freedom. Intellectual freedom. Economic freedom. Social freedom. Cultural freedom. Through education, we can enlarge and expand those freedoms, we can show that government is a power not just for administration but for transformation.” THE RESPONSE: NASUWTresponds toKing’s Speech FROM? Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union REGARDING? Labour’s upcoming policy programme as set out in the King’s Speech WHEN? 17th July 2024 “The newGovernment’s programme provides an opportunity to reset our education systemand take a significant step forward in addressing the inequality, fragmentation, chaos and damage inflicted on the education system over the last 14 years, and restore the status of the teaching profession. We will now be looking to the new government to work with us in taking forward these and other measures in the interests of children and young people and the workforce in our schools and colleges.” Facing fines A school in Essex was recently reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office over its use of facial recognition technology (FRT). InMarch 2023, Chelmer ValleyHigh School in Chelmsford introduced a new FRT-based system for processing cashless canteen payments. Because such systems are built around storing and recognising individuals’ unique biometric data for identification purposes, organisations are required to carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) before they can be used. That wasn’t the case here, however – and nor had the school sought ‘opt in’ consent for its students’ biometric information to be gathered for payment purposes. Parents were issuedwith slips they could return if they wished to withdraw their child fromthe scheme, but ‘opt out’mechanisms aren’t recognised as a valid formof consent in such cases under UK law. It’s a cautionary tale for schools that are increasingly being courted by technology vendors keen to sell CCTV systems, reception equipment and payment solutions that incorporate FRT. According to Lynne Currie, head of privacy innovation at the ICO,“ We’ve taken action against this school to show introducing measures such as FRT should not be taken lightly, particularlywhen it involves children. We don’t want this to deter other schools fromembracing new technologies. But this must be done correctlywith data protection at the forefront, championing trust, protecting children’s privacy and safeguarding their rights. ” SPEECHES AND CORRESPONDENCE Forget the media-friendly soundbites – what else was in those announcements and speeches you missed? 19-20 OCTOBER 2024 Battle of Ideas Festival | 13 NOVEMBER 2024 The Education People Show | 20 NOVEMBER 2024 Schools &Academies Show SAVE THE DATE 19-20 OCTOBER 2024 Battle of Ideas Festival ChurchHouse,Westminster battleofideas.org.uk Fans of robust debate and those with trenchant views they’d like to get off their chest will find plenty to chew on at this year’s Battle of Ideas,where a vast spread of topics – women’s rights,AI,mental health and disinformation among them – will be subject to impassioned discussion. Secondary pupils can attend one of the days for free, or both for a discounted £10. 20 NOVEMBER 2024 Schools &Academies Show NECBirmingham schoolsandacademiesshow.co.uk Back for another stint at the NEC is this fixture of the education events calendar, offering lots in the way of knowledge- sharing, advice sessions and inspiring keynotes.This year’s event will be sharing exhibition space on the daywith both the EdTech Summit and the Independent Schools Conference, making formore networking opportunities than ever before. 13 NOVEMBER 2024 The Education People Show Kent Event Centre,Detling theeducationpeopleshow.co.uk Billed as the South East’s ‘Leading event for the promotion and development of effective school leadership,management, learning and teaching’ and free to attend, thosemaking the trip to Detling will get to participate in a series of workshops spanning an array of topics – fromemployment law and SEND provision to school finance. Proceedings will conclude with a keynote address by Beth TweddleMBE. 07 teachwire.net/secondary N E WS | S E P T / O C T