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12 May 2026

Author: Freddie Whittaker

Schools can afford Covid reopening costs from existing budgets, DfE insists

Schools that incur extra costs during the process of reopening more widely will have to meet them from their existing budgets, the Department for Education has confirmed. In updated guidance on its exceptional costs fund for schools, the government states that schools are “not eligible to make claims for any additional costs associated with more […]

Year 10 attendance reaches just 16% in first week of phased return

Just over 16 per cent of year 10 pupils were back in open secondary schools last Monday, well short of the 25 per cent limit imposed by the government. Ministers asked secondary schools to begin face-to-face support for up to a quarter of year 10 and 12 pupils from June 15. But attendance figures published […]

Johnson: Schools will return in September ‘with full attendance’

Schools will reopen with “full attendance” in September, the prime minister has said, as he announced a relaxation of social distancing rules in England. Boris Johnson told the House of Commons today that “primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance”, adding that “those children who can already go to school, should […]

After Durand: The school stepping out of the shadow of scandal

Two years after its rebrokering, Van Gogh primary in south London is still struggling to move on from its association with Durand Academy It’s been almost two years since Durand Academy closed its doors for the last time, its funding agreement with the government torn up and its leaders ordered to return the school’s land […]

Government to consult on delaying 2021 exam season

The government is considering delaying the 2021 exam series until later in the summer, Gavin Williamson has revealed. The education secretary told MPs this afternoon that the government would be “consulting with Ofqual about how we can move those exams back” to maximise teaching time. It comes amid growing pressure on ministers to reveal their […]

Ofsted will check how schools are spending £650m catch-up cash, says Williamson

Ofsted inspectors will be asked to check how schools are helping pupils catch up on missed teaching, the education secretary has said. The government announced last Friday that schools will split £650 million in additional funding to aid pupils who have fallen behind as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The funding is part of […]

Williamson wants whole-class ‘bubbles’ from September

The government will look into expanding “bubbles” in schools to include whole classes so all pupils can return in September. Gavin Williamson delivered today’s Downing Street press briefing, and fielded a number of questions about the government’s plans for the reopening of schools in the next academic year. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, said earlier […]

Schools advised to spend £650m catch-up cash on summer activities, longer days and extra books

Schools are being advised to spend their £650 million coronavirus catch-up cash on summer programmes and longer school days, as well as tuition under the new national tutoring programme. New government-backed guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation has set out the interventions schools could spend their additional catch-up funding on. It follows an announcement that […]