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20 April 2026

Author: Freddie Whittaker

Coronavirus: Nearly one in six secondaries not fully open, DfE data suggests

Around 1,500 schools have now been forced to partially close, with as many as one in six secondary schools not open to all pupils, new government figures show. According to the Department for Education’s latest school attendance survey data, 84 per cent of state-funded secondary schools were fully-open to all pupils as of last Thursday, […]

Campaign calls for BAME author quotas in GCSE study lists

Exam boards should ensure “at least a quarter of authors” in GCSE English literature specifications are from ethnic minority backgrounds, Teach First has said. The education charity also said schools need extra funding to train and support teachers “to appropriately explore racism with their pupils”, and called for a special fund to allow schools to […]

23 trusts submitted financial returns late

The government has named and shamed 23 academy trusts that were late in submitting financial returns in the last academic year. Trusts were supposed to have their land and buildings collection tool sent off by November 4 last year, and financial statements were supposed to follow on December 31, with accounts returns due on January […]

DfE introduces intelligence gathering to monitor exclusions ‘in real time’

The government is switching to monitoring changes in the use of exclusions and other disciplinary measures “in real time”, a minister has said, amid concerns of an exclusions “spike”. Children’s minister Vicky Ford said the Department for Education was “introducing intelligence gathering and monitoring processes” to gather information on the use of exclusions as schools […]

RSCs will ignore trusts’ 2020 results data and ‘pseudo Progress 8’ scores

Regional schools commissioners will ignore academy trusts’ own data on their 2020 results and “pseudo Progress 8” scores provided by third parties when making decisions this year. RSCs oversee the academies sector, and are responsible for deciding if schools need to move between trusts. They are also involved in decisions on new free schools and […]

Shadow education secretary apologises after calling Covid-19 a ‘good crisis’

Shadow education secretary Kate Green has apologised after calling the Covid-19 pandemic a “good crisis” which Labour should not let “go to waste”. Green’s remarks, made at the Labour Party’s virtual party conference, ‘Connected’, last week, sparked a furious backlash and were used by Boris Johnson at prime minister’s questions to attack party leader Sir […]

Ministers ‘knew all along’ free school meal vouchers would cover Easter

Ministers have been accused of knowing “all along” they would extend the national voucher scheme into the Easter holidays. But Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, did not announce the decision to continue providing the vouchers to families eligible for free school meals until April 4, the day after most schools broke up for the […]

Spielman: Not ‘realistic’ to expect schools to provide ‘full’ online teaching

It is not “sensible or realistic” to expect schools to provide a “full on-screen taught programme” for all absent pupils, Amanda Spielman has said. The chief inspector of schools told academy trust leaders this morning that interim visits due to start next week will look at how schools are “responding intelligently and doing what is […]