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It comes as official attendance data, published on Thursday, suggested school absence rates in England remained above pre-pandemic levels, with nearly one in five pupils missing at least 10% of school in the 2025/26 academic year.

Education minister Paul Waugh said the new attendance targets would take each school's local challenges into account, but that "every school has a role to play to improve attendance".

Before the Covid pandemic, when many schools closed to pupils for significant periods of time, attendance rates at English mainstream state schools regularly stayed above 95%, but schools have struggled to get back to those rates in the years since.

Thursday's figures, external suggested an overall attendance rate of 93% for 2025/26, a slight decrease on the previous year. That includes both authorised absences, such as illness, and unauthorised absences, which is when pupils miss school without permission or a valid reason.

The rates of persistent absence have doubled since the pandemic. A pupil is described as persistently absent if they miss at least 10% of school sessions.

In 2018/19, persistent absence rates for England state schools were around 10%, while the most recent data showed it was at 19% in 2025/26.

Pupils on free school meals and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) were also still more likely to be absent from school than their peers.

Many mainstream schools in England were given attendance targets specific to their school in a widespread trial last year, but on Thursday the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed that every school would be getting their own target and that it would be monitored for the first time.

The BBC understands there will be no immediate penalties for schools who miss their attendance targets, but that the DfE will get in touch with schools that are off-track to make sure they are aware and taking action.

Schools could then be pointed towards best practice guidance, or encouraged to join with other schools in a local behaviour and attendance hub.

The regulator Ofsted already considers a schools' overall attendance rates in their inspections.

In an opinion piece published in The Independent newspaper on Thursday, newly-appointed education minister Paul Waugh said the latest attendance stats showed "progress has slowed over the past year", and that the government's response needed to be "broader, smarter and more ambitious".

Schools have been promised access to more data tools in the coming year to help them analyse individual pupils' attendance records, Waugh said, so they can identify concerns earlier and be "intervening more quickly when pupils begin to drift away from regular attendance".

Fridays are "becoming a particular weak spot for attendance", he added, and said he would be investigating why pupil illness absences are regularly significantly higher at the end of each week.

He called on schools to put on interesting clubs and enrichment sessions on Fridays "so every child stays engaged right through to the end of the week".

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of schools leaders' union NAHT, said Thursday's attendance data showed "just how hard it is to drive absence rates back down to pre-pandemic levels".

"Schools already go above and beyond in encouraging attendance, but it isn't a problem that they can solve alone or that government targets will fix," he said.

"The issue often has roots beyond the classroom, from illness and mental health challenges to poverty and unmet special educational needs."

He said it highlighted the importance of the government's upcoming reforms to the SEND system in England.

The data released on Thursday also showed that nearly 12% of pupils missed school in the week beginning Monday 22 June, when an exceptional heatwave was affecting parts of England, leading to the highest absence rate of the year. %!s()

After meeting in Rabat on Wednesday, FIFA’s leadership reaffirmed support ⁠for Infantino, apologised to the world football governing body’s 211 member associations for mistakes surrounding the World Cup investment plan and promised a review of the processes that triggered a fierce backlash from national federations.

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FIFA’s attempt to draw a line under the biggest crisis of Infantino’s presidency, however, is unlikely to end scrutiny of the governing body’s ‌leadership and governance before the March presidential election.

McAllister said finding a credible challenger to Infantino would be difficult because any candidate would need support from across football’s global membership, not just Europe.

“It’s not as easy as people might think. The right candidate has to also have the right level of support,” McAllister said in an interview with the broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

“There’s so much politics around this. There’s such an imperative to get a candidate who could unite the whole world of ⁠football, not just Europe in this case.”

The former Wales women’s captain ⁠called for sweeping governance reforms to modernise football’s leadership structures.

“It requires a really fundamental change in the culture of how the leadership of football operates, I believe, and that we really drive forward the modernisation of the game to make sure ⁠that football isn’t run by fiefdoms or by individuals, that it’s democratically run,” she said.

McAllister’s comments came amid mounting scrutiny of Infantino after he ⁠withdrew plans to create a commercial subsidiary and sell a stake ⁠in future World Cup revenues to outside investors.

McAllister told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that any transition in FIFA leadership would need to be accompanied by a return to what she sees as the game’s core values ‌with football governed in the interests of the sport rather than political or commercial interests.

“The game is there for everybody, from grassroots to elite,” she said in an interview. “It doesn’t belong to any ‌one ‌of those constituents. It’s as much for girls as it is for boys. It should reach every corner of the world, in the poorest countries as well as the globally successful ones.” %!s()

The 30-year-old's arrival may be viewed as a move which casts further doubt over Zan Vipotnik's Swansea future, with the Slovenia international expected to attract interest in this transfer window after finishing last season as the Championship's top scorer.

Stewart - part of Scotland's squad at this summer's World Cup - has scored goals in the Championship for both Southampton and Sunderland and is seen as "an experienced and proven performer" at this level by Vitor Matos.

"In our conversations he has made clear his hunger and desire to be an important senior figure and leader in our dressing room," said the Swansea head coach.

"His goalscoring record shows he is someone who relishes responsibility and we look forward to getting down to work with him and settling him into the group."

Stewart scored 11 times in 33 games for Southampton last season, his best at St Mary's Stadium after injury issues restricted him to only 17 appearances across the previous two campaigns.

He has played four times for Scotland, including a substitute appearance against Morocco at this summer's World Cup.

Swansea have sold Liam Cullen to Leicester City this summer and could also allow Bobby Wales to depart on loan, meaning Stewart joins Vipotnik and Adam Idah as the forward options in Matos' squad.

Stewart missed a hefty chunk of the 2025-26 season because of a hamstring injury but was still productive when available, managing nine goals and two assists in his 27 league appearances.

He also scored two goals in Southampton's run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, including the opener in their quarter-final victory over Arsenal.

Stewart had stints with Ardeer Thistle and Kilwinning Rangers as a youngster before joining Albion Rovers in 2016.

The Irvine-born player then played for St Mirren, Alloa Athletic and Ross County - where he won the 2018-19 Scottish Championship and Scottish Challenge Cup - before joining Sunderland in 2021.

Stewart was prolific with the Black Cats, scoring 40 goals in 81 appearances to help the club win the EFL Trophy in 2021 and gain promotion to the Championship a year later.

His form at the Stadium of Light earned him a move to Southampton in 2023, where he scored a total of 12 goals in 50 appearances.

"We are delighted that Ross has joined Swansea City, he brings a wealth of experience on and off the pitch," said the Welsh club's sporting director Ben Stevens.

"His performances last season in the Championship were a standout, and it earned him a deserved place in Scotland's World Cup squad. We are very excited to see Ross in a Swansea shirt."

Stewart becomes Swansea's sixth permanent signing of the summer after Moussa Yeo, Elijah Just, Joseph Opoku, Stephen Welsh and Leo Walta, who had been on loan last season.

They have also signed Benfica left-back Tiago Parente on loan.

Valencia's Andre Almeida and another midfielder, Ousseynou Fall Seck of Danish side Randers, are also on the Swans' list of targets. %!s()

Minor cases can take weeks to recover, mostly managed by rest, but more severe issues can require significant physiotherapy and potentially even surgery, with recovery taking up to a year.

Alcaraz has not undergone surgery, but his latest withdrawal will take him to over four months out injured, and for a portion of that he was unable to use a racquet at all.

Wrist injuries are particularly worrisome for tennis players. The joint plays a key role in every contact between the racquet and ball - the way the wrist rolls through a shot helps generate power, and its dexterity is vital for delicate touches like drop shots, which are a key part of Alcaraz's all-court game.

The lack of muscle surrounding the bones and tendons in the wrists also makes rebuilding strength difficult, meaning the length of absences can be difficult to predict.

"It's really hard to cope with", says CiCi Bellis, a former world number 35 who retired aged 22 after suffering from recurring wrist injuries.

"The wrist is one of the places you fear hurting the most. With lower body injuries you can still be on court swinging but with the wrist it's so tough mentally because you can't. I definitely had distrust in the joint when coming back.

"Time is the biggest healer from a rehab standpoint and building back your confidence.

"For somebody like Alcaraz who has maybe the best forehand in the world, the wrist is so core to his game and he plays with a lot of spin using the wrist a lot. It's one of the biggest parts of his body he relies on."

Alcaraz won his last match against a qualifier in the opening round of the Barcelona Open, but was in visible discomfort and withdrew before his next match.

Photographs and videos on his social media channels show him in a training session in Murcia on Tuesday, sporting the longer hair he has grown out during his absence.

A competitive return is still a few weeks off at least, however, meaning he will at best be carrying almost five months' worth of rust into the US Open if he plays.

But with wrist injuries in tennis, waiting longer can help prevent the problem recurring.

"The biggest risk of injury is a previous injury - if you have had it once, you are more likely to have it in the future," Ross adds.

"If a player can get back over a period of a few months and they don't have a reoccurrence, generally they will be OK.

"But some things can become chronic and the pressure of the sport to come back, earn money by playing, and keep your ranking points, is a risk."

One of the key challenges of a wrist injury is psychological - once a player has suffered a painful injury in the joint that controls so much of their technique, it can be difficult to fully trust it again.

"Wrists aren't easy", said Sir Andy Murray, having suffered injuries in both wrists in his early 20s.

"When the ball is low you know you really have to use your wrist to get the ball up and down, or when the ball is coming fast and quite high you need to use your wrist a lot to bring the ball down.

"It's difficult when you try to come back [from a wrist injury], because the pain that you feel when you initially hurt it, mentally it's very difficult to let go of."

Before his injury, Alcaraz had been performing at an extremely impressive average of two Grand Slam titles per year. Continuing at that pace would have him level with Novak Djokovic's record of 24 by 2034, when he will be only 31.

Alcaraz will hope to return to top form as soon as he is back on court, but reaching the same level of performance following a wrist injury isn't easy.

"The wrist doesn't get great blood supply and it doesn't heal very quickly," says Ross. "It takes real time to build strength in it and the management is very complex.

"Restoring confidence is down to how rehab goes - you can feel amazing and then get a setback, and it's how you deal with that.

"We also treat injuries as windows of opportunity - you might not be able to hit a tennis ball right now, but let's work on your cardiovascular fitness, work on the core and lower body, or see how you mentally decompress and cope with having a holiday.

"You really have to keep the player motivated." %!s()

Earlier studies had raised concerns that acetaminophen (Tylenol) given during infancy might be connected to eczema, asthma, or other health conditions later in childhood.

"Our study found that paracetamol and ibuprofen are incredibly safe to use in young children," says lead researcher Professor Stuart Dalziel, Cure Kids Chair of Child Health Research at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and Pediatrician at Starship Children's Hospital.

Dalziel notes that acetaminophen and ibuprofen are among the medicines most often prescribed or purchased over the counter for babies around the world.

"These results give parents and health professionals high confidence to continue to use these important medications."

Nearly 4,000 Babies Took Part

The trial followed almost 4,000 babies from birth across New Zealand. Half were randomly assigned to receive acetaminophen when medication was needed for fever or pain during the first year of life. The other half were assigned to receive ibuprofen.

At regular points throughout the study, parents were asked whether their children had experienced eczema, asthma symptoms, or bronchiolitis. The research team also reviewed prescription information and hospital records.

The findings from the first year of follow-up have now been analyzed and published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

No Significant Difference in Eczema or Bronchiolitis

About 16 percent of babies in the acetaminophen group developed eczema, compared with 15 percent in the ibuprofen group. Bronchiolitis affected about five percent of children in each group.

Researchers found that these differences were not statistically significant. Serious side effects were uncommon, and none were attributed to either medication.

Overall, the results showed no association between acetaminophen or ibuprofen and eczema or bronchiolitis. The findings also confirmed that both medicines were safe to use during infancy.

This is the first randomized controlled trial considered the gold standard for research to directly examine this question.

A Long-Term Study of Childhood Health

The findings are part of a larger research project called the 'Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in the Primary Prevention of Asthma in Tamariki (PIPPA Tamariki)' study.

PIPPA Tamariki is the largest clinical trial involving children ever carried out in New Zealand. Participants are being monitored from birth until they reach age six.

The research team plans to publish results from the children at age three, followed by additional findings when they reach age six.

The broader goal is to determine whether acetaminophen use during the first year of life is connected to health conditions that cannot be diagnosed reliably until children are older.

"We know that two-thirds of children who are wheezy at age three years don't develop asthma by age six," says Dalziel.

"Thus we need to wait until school age to ultimately test if paracetamol in the first year of life causes asthma."

Developmental conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also tend to be identified more accurately as children grow older.

Lead author Dr. Eunicia Tan, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and emergency physician at Middlemore Hospital, says, "Ultimately, the study will provide important evidence regarding the link between paracetamol use and asthma, eczema, hay fever, and developmental disorders, such as autism and ADHD."

The research was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and Cure Kids. It was conducted by the University of Auckland and the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, Wellington. %!s()