Pulse.Assent

Speaking following the Security Council vote, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

We are deeply disappointed that the mandate for the UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), which is impartial and independent, has not been renewed.

Last year the JIM found that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against its people on no fewer than three occasions. The JIM will be reporting in the coming days on responsibility for a further two chemical weapons attacks, including in Khan Sheikhoun in April.

Russia’s veto at the UN Security Council means that in a month the JIM will cease to exist. It will no longer be able to do its work to investigate who is responsible for use of chemical weapons in Syria. The veto suggests that the Syrian regime has something to hide and risks letting both Asad forces and Daesh off the hook for these heinous crimes. In 2013, Russia said it had secured Syria’s agreement to destroy all its chemical weapons. Since then, the JIM has found the Syrian regime used chemical weapons three times. Russia’s response is not to redouble its efforts to ensure disarmament, but to shut down the investigation.

While we are deeply disappointed, the United Kingdom will not let Russia’s actions stop us from working with international partners to seek justice for victims and to prevent the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere.

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The company’s Chief Executive, Mark Thurston, said:

When I joined the organisation earlier this year we faced a number of issues that needed to be addressed, particularly around our administrative controls and mechanisms on redundancies agreed by the company, as highlighted by the recent NAO report into High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd’s annual accounts.

Steve has been absolutely critical in identifying the ways to rectify those issues and make sure they do not happen again.

But, having done that, I respect Steve’s decision that now is the right time for him to move on. I would like to thank him for all he has done for the company in this formative period. His honourable decision will enable me to build the executive team for the next phase of the project.

Steve Allen said:

HS2 is a hugely important project for the future of Britain and it has been a great privilege to have been part of the process of putting in place the foundation stones for its successful delivery.

The weaknesses highlighted by the NAO report resulted in both the HS2 Executive and Board being misinformed about the status of critical approvals for redundancies. Those assurances were given by teams for which I was responsible and, obviously, I regret that.

So, whilst we are now putting in place the measures to strengthen financial governance systems and to provide robust financial stewardship for the company, I believe it will be appropriate for me to move on.

Education Secretary Justine Greening addressed an audience of 4,000 teachers today (Tuesday 24 October) and urged them to work with her to give every child the same opportunity to fulfil their ambition.

In a speech at the Teach First conference at Wembley Arena, Justine Greening set out plans to help pupils from all backgrounds reach their full potential and highlighted the pivotal role teachers have to play in boosting social mobility.

She also used the speech to provide further detail on two new initiatives aimed at ensuring schools can recruit and retain the very best teachers, building on the government’s wider programme of support. She announced:

• the 25 areas across England, which include Bradford, Derby and Salford, selected to run a pilot programme to reimburse student loan repayments for modern foreign languages and science teachers in the early years of their careers.

• two new projects that will receive a share of the £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund. These projects will help provide tailored training opportunities for teachers on both managing challenging pupil behaviour and developing leadership, so they can make the most of their talent in the classroom.

Education Secretary Justine Greening said:

I want to make sure that everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their ambitions, regardless of where they are growing up or their background. It’s great news that there are 1.8 million more children in schools rated good or outstanding than there were in 2010 and the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers is narrowing.

But we know there is more to do – particularly in parts of the country that are at risk of falling behind. Our 12 Opportunity Areas are central to this. Working together with schools, councils, local businesses and other organisations, this programme is looking at ways to give all children the best start in life.

Great teachers help unlock children’s talents and Teach First is already playing a key role by recruiting top graduates with the potential to become excellent teachers in some of our most challenging schools. I look forward to continuing to work with them to broaden horizons for all young people.

These announcements follow the recent confirmation of a number of measures to recruit and retain more great teachers, including a new phased maths bursary and a £30 million investment to provide tailored support to some of the schools facing the most significant recruitment and retention challenges.

Teach First CEO, Russell Hobby, also spoke at the event and urged the teaching profession to “go further, working alongside schools, the government, businesses and communities – with a collective will to create a country where the opportunities are available for all”.

The two projects that will receive a share of the £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund are Tom Bennett Training and EdisonLearning.

Jerry Baker, Managing Director EdisonLearning on behalf of EdisonLearning and NAHT said:

We are delighted that the success of the NAHT Aspire Programme has been recognised in the award of the TLIF contract. We look forward to continuing this success with the TLIF schools and building new Aspire networks across the country over the next two years.

Tom Bennett, Director of Tom Bennett Training, said:

Good behaviour is fundamental to every outcome we value in education: academic outcomes, social skills, employability, citizenship, creativity, critical thinking, and more. Teachers and leaders can make a huge difference by creating fantastic cultures in their rooms and schools where learning, civility and community are valued.

Our training offers school staff the tools to do exactly that, in ways that have been tested in some of the best schools in the UK and beyond.

The local authorities covered by the student loan reimbursement pilot are: Barnsley; Blackpool; Bracknell Forest; Bradford; Cambridgeshire; Derby; Derbyshire; Doncaster; Halton; Knowsley; Luton; Middlesbrough; Norfolk; North East Lincolnshire; North Yorkshire; Northamptonshire; Northumberland; Oldham; Peterborough; Portsmouth; Salford; Sefton; St. Helens; Stoke-on-Trent; and Suffolk.

Around 800 modern foreign language and 1,700 science teachers a year will be eligible for this pilot scheme. For a teacher on £29,000, the new student loan repayments pilot and the increased student loan repayment threshold of £25,000 will mean £720 cash in pocket. This is the equivalent of an approximate £1,000 increase in salary.