Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

CEO leaves trust 12 months after whistleblower probe

A trust chief executive who threatened to “deal with” a whistleblower has left his post, more than a year after the launch of an investigation into his comments. Victoria Academies Trust (VAT) said it had agreed to terminate the contract of Andrew Morrish as it was the “most efficient use of resources and time” that […]

Coronavirus: Attainment gap could widen by 75%, DfE official warns

The attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their better-off peers could widen by as much as 75 per cent because of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior Department for Education official has warned. Vicki Stewart, the deputy director of the DfE’s pupil premium and school food division, told a Westminster Education Forum event on Wednesday that […]

DfE ‘can’t prevent’ schools buying half-term meal vouchers

The government’s refusal to roll out the free meal voucher scheme over the May half-term break is meaningless because they are unable to prevent schools from buying vouchers, it has been claimed. Ministers said they have “no plans to extend the scheme into future holiday periods”. However, school business managers and food campaigners have pointed […]

Liverpool council defies government reopening plans – vowing children won’t return until June 15 ‘at very earliest’

Liverpool City Council has defied government calls for pupils to return to classrooms from June 1, saying children will not go back to its schools until June 15 “at the very earliest”. Documents leaked to Schools Week show the local authority plans to follow-through with its threat to defy the government over concerns it will not […]

Coronavirus: Ministers accused of ‘abdicating responsibility’ over schools reopening plan

Ministers have been accused of “abdicating responsibility and handing it to heads” over their contentious plans for some pupils to return to school next month. School leaders have been told to prepare for the potential return of pupils in reception, year 1 and year 6 to their classrooms on June 1. The guidance reads less […]

Coronavirus: Borrow teachers from other schools or use TAs to address shortages, schools told

Schools should use teachers from other schools or “experienced” teaching assistants if they don’t have enough staff to teach returning pupils from June 1, new Department for Education guidance states. The DfE has this evening published a “planning guide for primary schools”, which sets out a step-by-step approach to reopening schools. The DfE claims it […]

Coronavirus: Cabinet minister promises to ‘comfort’ unions as tensions grow over schools plan

A cabinet minister has said the government will work with unions to provide “as much comfort as we possibly can” over its plans to begin reopening schools next month. Tensions between the government and unions have been steadily growing since Boris Johnson announced it was the government’s aim for reception, year 1 and year 6 […]

Coronavirus: Unions urge government to ‘step back’ from June 1 school reopening plan

Unions representing hundreds of thousands of school teachers, leaders and support staff have called on the government to “step back” from its plan to have some pupils return to schools on June 1. A joint statement from unions in the Trades Union Congress with education members, including teachers’ unions the NEU and NASUWT, leadership union […]

Coronavirus: 8 things we learned from Gavin Williamson on plans to reopen schools

Gavin Williamson has defended plans to begin the phased reopening of schools on June 1, hitting out at the “scaremongering” of those raising concerns. Summoned by MPs to the House of Commons to face questions about the proposal today, Williamson said the plans are a “sensible and responsible” approach to getting more children back to […]