Schools aren’t designed for autistic children – these are the sensory challenges they face

By Keren MacLennan, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Bath

In the academic year so far, the proportion of children who are “persistently absent” from schools in England – missing at least 10% of school sessions – stands at 19.5%. This is up from last year – and significantly higher than the 10.5% who were persistently absent before the pandemic.

The UK government’s “back to school” call in 2025 proposed a crackdown on “bad behaviour” to address this issue and get children back into classrooms. But a focus on bad behaviour…

Read complete article

~	Europe: European Commission must urgently enforce landmark law to stop TikTok’s addictive harms

~	How diverse voices are transforming the UN’s climate science

~	The brilliant and bizarre ways birds use their sense of smell – from natural cologne to pest control

~	Tariffs might seem manageable now – but they’ll quietly squeeze households later

~	Bolivia’s ‘capitalism for all’ project sparks backlash for selling-out on natural resources

~	From bodybuilding to the local gym: how performance-enhancing drugs can damage the heart

~	Bridgerton season four explores sexual and class power dynamics more than any season before

~	From ski jumps and sliding bobsleds to engineering snow, here are 5 essential reads on the science of the Winter Olympics

~	Fears about TikTok’s policy changes point to a deeper problem in the tech industry

~	Will a ‘Trump slump’ continue to hit US tourism in 2026 − and even keep World Cup fans away?