Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Outbreak fears cause cautious schools to continue with mask rules

Mask rules for pupils will remain in place at some schools across England next week amid fears about localised outbreaks and a highly transmissible new variant of Covid. Several schools told Schools Week that they would continue to require masks in classrooms and communal areas even after the official government recommendation lifts on Monday. Prime […]

Covid outbreaks in schools double in a week

The number of Covid outbreaks in schools and other education settings doubled last week, new government data shows. Public Health England’s latest flu and Covid-19 report shows there were 48 new acute respiratory infection (ARI) “incidents” involving Covid reported by education settings in the week to May 9, up from 23 the week before and […]

Home education among pupils with EHC plans up by a quarter in one year

The number of children with education, health and care plans being educated at home has risen by almost a quarter in just one year. Data published by the Department for Education today shows that 3,660 pupils with EHC plans were in elective home education as of January this year, up from 2,983 in January 2020. […]

Delay ‘risky’ reforms to language GCSEs, MPs and peers tell DfE

The government should delay “risky and untested” reforms to modern foreign language GCSEs, a group of MPs and peers has said. The all-party parliamentary group for modern languages has urged the Department for Education to think again after being “inundated with messages of concern” from across the education sector. In March, the government began consulting […]

School masks rule may be reintroduced in response to ‘localised outbreaks’, DfE says

Schools in areas facing “localised outbreaks” of Covid may be asked to reintroduce masks for pupils, the Department for Education has said. The government announced earlier this week that the recommendation that masks be worn in secondary classrooms and by pupils in secondary corridors will be lifted from Monday, in line with step three of […]

More primary pupils off with suspected Covid, but overall attendance remains high

The number of primary school pupils absent because of a suspected Covid case increased by over 60 per cent last week, according to government attendance survey data. However, only around 1 per cent of pupils nationally were off for Covid-related reasons nationally last week. The latest statistics published by the Department for Education show that […]

Pupil face mask rules to be lifted from May 17

Pupils will no longer wear face masks in school from next week, Boris Johnson has confirmed. The recommendation that masks be worn in secondary classrooms and by students in communal areas will be lifted from May 17. However, the rule that staff and other adults wear face coverings in situations where social distancing is not […]

Streeting: Ending child poverty must be ‘central mission’ for Labour

Coming up with a plan to end child poverty must be a “central mission” for the next Labour government, Wes Streeting has said, following his promotion from the role of shadow schools minister. The MP for Ilford North and former National Union of Students president also said he would continue to work “really closely” with […]

DfE keeps edtech demonstrator conflicts ‘action plan’ close to its chest

The government has an “action plan” to address potential conflicts of interest in its edtech demonstrator contract with United Learning, but is refusing to publish it. Schools Week revealed last month that England’s largest academy trust had been awarded the contract to run the scheme for its second year. The programme in “demonstrator” schools helps […]