Freddie Whittaker | Schools Week

Coronavirus: AET to spend £2m on laptops as others call for tech donations

One of England’s largest academy trusts has said it will spend £2 million on laptops to help poorer pupils access digital learning. However, the plan by the Academies Enterprise Trust, which will involve live-streamed lessons for some pupils, could set the chain at-odds with unions, which have warned that their members cannot be expected to […]

Coronavirus: Schools step up to support their suppliers

Schools across England are stepping up to save small businesses in their supply chains by speeding up payments – with one trust asking some suppliers to invoice early for next year’s services. But although there is broad support for the move – following instructions from the government for schools to help keep their suppliers going […]

The programme making all the difference to behaviour and exclusions

As education charity The Difference prepares to expand its inclusive leadership training programme, Schools Week met members of this year’s cohort to find out how new ways of looking at inclusion are helping their schools – and reducing exclusions. “I think classrooms are calmer,” says Neelam Maru, who has worked at Morpeth School in east […]

Coronavirus: Schools told to review child protection policies

Schools have been told to review their child protection policies and warned they may have to rely on other schools’ safeguarding leads in response to the coronavirus outbreak. New guidance on safeguarding during COVID-19 has been issued by the Department for Education. It comes as schools are grappling with a new way of working, providing […]

Coronavirus: Exams regulator to set out details of process and timetable ‘next week’

Detailed information about how pupils will be assessed for this summer’s GCSEs and A-levels won’t be published until next week, the exams regulator has said. But schools will have to wait longer for details of how moderation and appeals will work. Ofqual said it was “rapidly working up plans” to implement the arrangements announced by […]

Coronavirus: Help poorer children access online learning, charity begs tech firms

Tech firms and internet providers have been asked to help poorer children get online after a survey revealed just two per cent of teachers working in the poorest communities believe all their pupils can access the internet at home. A survey of more than 6,000 teachers by Teacher Tapp found the vast majority in the […]

‘Requires improvement’ schools less likely to improve under new framework

Schools rated ‘requires improvement’ are less likely to improve under Ofsted’s new inspection framework, new data shows. The watchdog has published statistics this morning which show that just 56 per cent of ‘requires improvement’ schools inspected in the first term of the new framework improved to ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, down from 64 per cent in […]

Coronavirus: Trainees to qualify based on progress made towards teachers’ standards

Trainee teachers due to qualify this year will be judged on their completed assessments and progress towards the teachers’ standards if they cannot complete their courses due to coronavirus disruption. In a policy statement sent to initial teacher training partnerships, seen by Schools Week, the Department for Education advised providers to continue to deliver courses […]

Coronavirus: School governors told to meet over Skype

School governors should adopt “alternative arrangements” for their meetings now that non-essential gatherings are banned, the government has said. The Department for Education has issued new guidance for governors, which states that governing bodies and boards of trustees should “adopt alternative arrangements, for example by using video or teleconferencing applications”. “These may include but are […]