Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

School attendance rises to 15%, highest level recorded this term

School attendance rose to 15 per cent last week, the highest level recorded so far this term, new data shows. Attendance survey data published by the Department for Education shows that 1.211 million pupils, 14.9 per cent of the total pupil population, attended school last Thursday. This is up from 1.147 million, or 14.1 per […]

DfE confirms schools can reclaim lost cash after Covid testing funding change

Schools that could lose thousands of pounds because of a change in the way funding for Covid testing is allocated will be able to claim the cash back, the Department for Education has said. The clarification comes after a Schools Week investigation found a shift by the DfE to only fund testing costs based on […]

DfE knew about new strain before issuing Greenwich direction, admits top civil servant

The Department for Education knew about the highly infectious new Covid-19 variant before ordering Greenwich council to rescind its request for schools to close early for Christmas, its most senior civil servant has admitted. Susan Acland-Hood, the DfE’s permanent secretary, has written to Robert Halfon, the chair of the education select committee, to apologise for […]

Ministers favour priority for exam year groups if full March 8 school reopening not possible

The government wants to see exam year groups prioritised for return if a full school reopening on March 8 is not possible, Schools Week understands. Ministers are hoping that scientific advice will support the return of all year groups, sources familiar with discussions have said. However, if there are still concerns, the government is understood […]

CfEY think tank chief Loic Menzies to stand down

The founder and chief executive of the Centre for Education and Youth think tank Loic Menzies is to stand down after almost 12 years. Menzies, who established the organisation as LKMCo in 2009, said it was “time for a new chief executive to decide what CfEY’s next chapter will look like”. Since its launch, the […]

Real-terms boost from extra school funding wiped out by Covid

Per-pupil funding actually fell in real terms this year after changes to prices as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic were taken into account, leaving the government short of its target to boost budgets to above 2010 levels. New analysis by the Department for Education shows average per-pupil funding for five to 16-year-olds fell by […]

Johnson hopes to begin reopening schools from March 8 if vaccine target met

The government hopes to begin reopening schools from March 8 if its target for the first phase of vaccinations is met, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister told the House of Commons this afternoon that it would “not be possible” to reopen schools immediately after February half term. But if the government’s target of […]

Reopening schools: Announcements coming ‘in next few days’ as minister remains tight-lipped

The government will make announcements on reopening schools “in the next few days”, the schools minister has said. However, Nick Gibb gave no indication of whether the upcoming announcements would include a firm date for schools to reopen, or details of any phased approach the government may take. We want to give two weeks’ notice […]

DfE to stop publishing Covid case data for school staff working from home

The government will stop publishing data on the number of school staff working from home because they have a suspected or confirmed case of Covid or are self-isolating. The Department for Education has announced today that from next week, it will only publish information on the reasons for staff absence if they cannot work remotely […]