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11 May 2026

Author: Freddie Whittaker

Attendance: Almost 1 in 5 pupils were in school the week before reopenings

Almost one in five pupils were in school last week, just days before wider reopenings, new attendance data shows. Survey data from the Department for Education shows 18.7 per cent of pupils were in attendance at state schools nationwide last Thursday, up from 18.3 per cent the week before. The data also shows a large […]

Government medic warns of school disruption as Covid testing regime beds in

Schools may see a “larger number” of children forced to self-isolate during the first weeks of reopening while new Covid testing regimes bed in, the government’s deputy chief medical officer has said. Dr Jenny Harries told the Downing Street briefing this afternoon she expected to see an impact on transmission rates as pupils return to […]

No ‘current’ plans to force schools into multi-academy trusts, says Williamson

There are “currently no plans” to legislate to force schools to join multi-academy trusts, the education secretary has said, after he revealed the government wanted “far more schools” in the clusters by 2025. Gavin Williamson told the Foundation for Education Development’s inaugural summit that partnerships between schools were “fundamental”, especially in the wake of the […]

Mandatory school attendance will ‘pit heads against parents’

The decision to reintroduce school attendance enforcement will “pit heads against parents” and risks costly legal action from families that include shielding members, it has been warned. All schools are due to reopen next week. The government has said attendance will be mandatory for primary pupils from Monday and for secondary pupils from the following […]

Williamson pledges to back teachers ‘all the way’ on exam grading

The education secretary has pledged to back teachers “all the way” in their efforts to award exam grades this summer, and accepted he will share the responsibility if there is a backlash on results days. In an exclusive interview with Schools Week this week, Gavin Williamson said the government was putting its “confidence and faith […]

Schools to get £10m Turing Scheme cash for 5,000 placements

Schools will receive £10 million in funding from the government’s Turing Scheme, Schools Week can reveal. £105 million in total has been promised to pay for 35,000 placements for the UK’s new international student exchange programme, which is set to get underway in September. In an interview with Schools Week’s sister paper FE Week, Ecorys, […]