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11 May 2026

Author: Freddie Whittaker

Food parcels fiasco: How the pandemic exposed free school meals failures…again

The government is facing questions over its handling of the free school meals fiasco after it emerged that ministers pushed schools to prioritise food parcels following lobbying by the catering industry. Making sure children get proper, healthy meals should be the top priority for ministers, not listening to lobbyists from the catering industry Department for […]

Edenred is back: Free school meals voucher scheme to relaunch Monday

The government’s national free school meals voucher scheme will relaunch next Monday and be run by original supplier Edenred – with schools now given the freedom to provide food in whatever way they see fit. Ministers announced their intention to restart the voucher programme last week, but did not confirm details until today. The scheme […]

Ofsted inspections to be done remotely after U-turn

Ofsted monitoring inspections will now take place remotely until half term, following a U-turn by the watchdog. The inspectorate had been due to begin in-person monitoring inspections of schools from next week. However, Ofsted announced tonight that following a review of its plans, it has decided that “all planned inspection activity will be undertaken remotely […]

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 […]