Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Williamson looking at law change to put defibrillators in ‘all schools’

The government is looking at changing the law to ensure “all schools” have defibrillators, Gavin Williamson has said, following a meeting with campaigners. The education secretary told the House of Commons today it was “incredibly” moving to meet with Mark King, whose 12-year-old son Oliver died during a school swimming lesson in 2011. He said […]

Youngest pupils need ‘most support’, and 3 other things we learned from primary test analysis

Younger primary school pupils will need the “most support” to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers have said, after finding those in key stage 1 saw the biggest drop in attainment by the end of the last academic year. Across all subjects the younger year groups are showing the largest drops in attainment and therefore […]

Schools face ‘knife edge’ as scientists warn of ‘exponential’ Covid surge

A warning by government scientific advisers that schools will likely see “exponential” increases in Covid when they reopen has been described as “extremely worrying” by headteachers as the new term approaches. In a consensus statement on the return to schools published today, the government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling warned it was “highly likely that […]

School attendance data to be published fortnightly from September

The government will only publish school attendance data every two weeks from September, it has emerged. It comes as government scientific advisers warned a “high prevalence” of Covid-19 was “highly likely” to be seen in schools by the end of September, and urged the government to “plan for this eventuality”. Data on pupil attendance and […]

Head’s programme to diversify school leadership wins prestigious innovation award

A headteacher who founded an organisation aimed at addressing racial disparities in education leadership is among the winners of this year’s Fair Education Alliance (FEA) “innovation and intrapreneurship” awards. Nadine Bernard’s organisation Aspiring Heads is one of 10 projects to receive a £15,000 salary contribution and a year of support to develop, test and grow […]

Planned changes to teacher misconduct guidance: What you need to know

Stalking, upskirting, revenge porn and controlling or coercive behaviour are to be added to a list of offences for which teachers can be banned from the profession, under proposed changes to teacher misconduct guidance set out by the Department for Education. The government has published a consultation on proposed changes to its guidance on teacher […]

Reduce teachers’ timetabled hours in most disadvantaged schools, says Teach First

The government should fund a £30 million-a-year pilot to reduce teachers’ timetabled hours in some of the most disadvantaged schools, Teach First has said, after more than half of teachers backed the idea. The recommendation is one of several in a manifesto published by the charity, which also wants to see overall school funding increased […]

Johnson defends ‘heroic’ Williamson as reshuffle rumours swirl

Boris Johnson has defended Gavin Williamson for doing a “heroic job” in “difficult circumstances”, amid rumours he could be replaced as education secretary. The prime minister gave his public backing to Williamson, who is one of several cabinet ministers tipped for demotion or the sack in the rumoured upcoming reshuffle. The education secretary has faced […]

DfE raids own coffers for a tenth of £3.1bn catch-up cash

More than a tenth of the government’s £3.1 billion education catch-up funding is coming from existing Department for Education budgets, ministers have admitted. Education secretary Gavin Williamson has provided a full breakdown of how much money will be spent across various education recovery pledges over the coming years, after MPs demanded answers in June. In […]