Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

‘No plans’ to lengthen Christmas holidays but talks going on about ‘how’ pupils will return

The government doesn’t have “any plans to lengthen” the Christmas holidays, but “conversations” are ongoing about “how” pupils will go back, the Department for Education’s top civil servant has said. Appearing in front of the Parliamentary public accounts committee, DfE permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood was quizzed about reports that ministers are considering a delay to […]

Exam appeals soared in 2020 following process change

The number of appeals against GCSE and A-level exam grades soared this year as a result of the exams fiasco and a change to the appeals process, while the proportion upheld also increased, new data shows. However, exams regulator Ofqual has cautioned against “direct comparisons” with previous years, which it said were “not valid” due […]

Tell us how grade inflation can be ‘washed out’, MPs urge Williamson

MPs have demanded to know how 2020 grade inflation will eventually be “washed out” of the exams system. In a letter to education secretary Gavin Williamson, education committee chair Robert Halfon said he was “keen to know your current thinking” about how grade inflation can be ended “once you deem it is appropriate to do […]

Teachers report rise in non-Covid persistent absence

Three in ten teachers have reported a surge in non-Covid-related persistent absences, with the problem more acute in the most deprived schools. Polling by Teacher Tapp for the Centre for Social Justice think tank has found that 30 per cent of teachers said they had experienced more persistent absences that weren’t to do with illness […]

Ofqual chair Roger Taylor to stand down

The chair of exams regulator Ofqual is to stand down at the end of the year. Roger Taylor, who has been a member of the organisation’s board since 2012 and its chair since 2016, will be replaced by academy trust leader Ian Bauckham on an interim basis pending a “fair and open” competition to find […]

DfE reports gender pay gap increase

The gender pay gap at the Department for Education has increased by 5.7 percentage points in favour of men. As of March 2020, men on average earned 7.9 per cent more than women at the Department, compared with 2.2 per cent the year before, according to a new report. The gender pay gap was previously […]

Attendance gap between local authority areas has widened, new data shows

Attendance in state secondary schools still varies massively across England, according to the first regional data published by the government in two months. In fact, the gap between the areas with the highest and lowest attendance rates for secondary schools as of last week had actually widened to 40 percentage points, up from 33 percentage […]

Children’s commissioner candidate grilled over exclusions at her academy trust

Dame Rachel de Souza has claimed her experience of “putting right” issues with off-rolling, exclusions and SEND support in her academy trust make her a good candidate to be the next children’s commissioner. de Souza, who is the government’s preferred candidate for the role, was questioned by the education committee this morning about what chair […]

Williamson orders Greenwich council to withdraw early closure request

A London council which urged schools in its area to move to online learning this week has been ordered to withdraw its instructions by the education secretary, in the first use of emergency coronavirus powers granted earlier this year. Gavin Williamson has issued a “temporary continuity direction” under the emergency Coronavirus Act 2020 ordering the […]