Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

DfE pledges 300,000 more laptops – but unclear when they’ll be delivered

The Department for Education has pledged to provide an additional 300,000 laptops and tablets to assist poorer pupils with remote learning, but has not said when they will all be delivered. The announcement takes the total number of devices pledged to 1.3 million. Around 700,000 have so far been delivered to schools and councils. The […]

Fact check: What does the guidance on key worker children attendance actually say?

Changing guidance and interventions from ministers has created confusion over which pupils should be attending school, putting further pressure on headteachers. After announcing last Monday that schools would remain open to vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers until February half term at the earliest, the government has since sought to encourage critical workers […]

New Institute of Teaching sparks warning of the ‘Gibb-isation of education’

The new government-funded Institute of Teaching has been branded as another example of the “Gibb-isation of education”. The Department for Education announced on Saturday that it would establish a new provider to deliver initial teacher training, the government’s early career framework for new teachers and national professional qualifications for more experienced staff. The institute, which […]

Hurrah! Telecoms firms WILL now make Oak National Academy free-to-access

Mobile networks EE, O2, Three and Vodafone have said they will move to “zero-rate” the Oak National Academy after the online education provider agreed to move all its content to a single domain. The “big four” telecoms providers have announced today they “will, subject to technical testing over the coming weeks, open up free access […]

Covid infections in school-aged children peaked over Christmas, ONS data shows

Covid infection rates among school-age children peaked over Christmas, new data shows, with as many as 1 in 18 older pupils in London testing positive. The Office for National Statistics has published its latest infection survey data, the first since Christmas eve. The survey shows that the ONS believes the proportion of primary and secondary […]

DfE and PHE not on same page over school face masks evidence

A teaching union is demanding to see the “clear scientific evidence base” behind any government decision on face masks in schools. It comes as freedom of information requests show the Department for Education and Public Health England are using different evidence. The current guidance is that staff and pupils in communal areas in secondary schools […]

‘Big four’ telecoms firms won’t zero-rate remote education websites

Telecoms companies have poured cold water on calls for them to “zero-rate” remote education websites, citing technical issues around third-party content. Calls for unfettered access to online education resources have been growing since the government announced on Monday that most pupils will learn remotely until at least February half-term. If we can prove to them […]

Calls for Williamson’s resignation amid chaos and confusion of partial school closures

Headteachers across England were left scrambling to implement last-minute partial school closures this week after a chaotic series of U-turns and confusing announcements by the government. After resisting repeated calls for further restrictions on pupil attendance over recent weeks, Boris Johnson announced on Monday night that schools would move to remote education until February half-term […]

Partial school closures guidance: What you need to know

The Department for Education has finally updated its main Covid guidance document to include details of how leaders should handle this year’s partial school closures. Many of the instructions on how to keep schools Covid-secure are similar to or the same as they were before, but there are some other important instructions. Here’s what we […]