Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Charities in talks with ministers over tuition pilot

Four charities are in talks with ministers about a pilot scheme that could see one-to-one tuition delivered to thousands of pupils across England in an attempt to close the disadvantage gap. The Education Endowment Foundation, Nesta, Impetus and the Sutton Trust have confirmed they are “exploring ways to get high-quality tuition – including through online […]

DfE reports 10% rise in number of EHC plans

The number of pupils with education, health and care plans increased by 10 per cent in the past year, the Department for Education has said. The latest data shows there were 390,109 pupils with an EHC plan as of January 2020, up from 353,995 at the same point in 2019. However, at the same time, […]

Coronavirus: DfE seeks more online education resources to promote

The Department for Education has launched a consultation process to identify more online education resources that it can promote to schools and parents. It follows the publication around a month ago of a list of online education resources, hosted by the DfE on its Gov.uk website. Now the Department says it is “reviewing and updating” […]

DfE’s SEND review must address ‘significant failings’, says Public Accounts Committee

The government’s review of provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities must result in “concrete action” to address “significant failings”, an influential committee of MPs has said. An inquiry by the parliamentary public accounts committee found that the education, wellbeing and life-chances of pupils with SEND are being damaged by the government’s failure […]

Public accounts committee SEND inquiry report: Six things the DfE should do

The parliamentary public accounts committee has published a damning report on the support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. The report warns many pupils with SEND are not getting the support they need, and calls for swift action from government to right this injustice. Here are the committee’s six recommendations for the Department […]

83% of heads say inability to implement social distancing would prevent pupils’ return

More than four in five headteachers believe the inability to implement “appropriate” social distancing measures in schools would prevent them from opening to more pupils. A survey of members of the National Association of Head Teachers reveals 83 per cent believe the difficulties associated with social distancing in schools could stand in the way of […]

Coronavirus: ‘Very real risk’ of spike if schools open too early, say teaching unions

The leaders of England’s two largest teaching unions have come together with others from across the UK and Ireland to urge “significant caution” over plans to reopen schools. Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the National Education Union, and Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, are among […]

Coronavirus: 6 key findings from the Sutton Trust’s research on university applications

More than two in five A-level pupils believe the assessment system in place this year will adversely affect their grades, while almost half believe the Covid-19 crisis will hit their chances of getting into their first-choice university. Social mobility charity The Sutton Trust polled pupils studying for their A-levels this year, and found many were […]