James Carr | Schools Week

DfE admits it has never used remote education legal powers

The government has been accused of ‘political posturing’ after admitting it has never used emergency powers to force schools to provide remote education, despite reissuing the legal duty last week. The Department for Education (DfE) announced last week it would again be placing a legal requirement on schools to provide learning for pupils unable to […]

New £75 ‘connectivity support grants’: What you need to know

Schools will be able to claim back money to help disadvantaged pupils absent due to Covid get online in the new school year under a new “connectivity support grant” scheme, the government has announced. But the Department for Education has warned it may reject claims for funding if disruption reported by schools does not match […]

DfE reintroduces remote learning legal duty for 2021-22 academic year

The government has reissued its remote education direction which places a legal duty upon schools to provide learning for pupils unable to attend the school site due to Covid-19. The Department for Education announced today schools will once again be required to offer immediate access to “high-quality remote education” when pupils need to self-isolate. But […]

What you need to know about plans for a new international QTS qualification

Plans for a new international qualified teacher status qualification will be developed by an expert working group and trialled in a small pilot before being fully rolled-out, the government has said. The Department for Education today published its response to a consultation on developing a new ‘iQTS’ qualification, which could be delivered by English school-centred […]

Covid: School attendance data collection to go weekly from October

Schools will be asked to submit Covid-19 attendance data to the government on a weekly rather than daily basis from October, it has been announced. The educational setting status form, which has provided the government with information about attendance and Covid-related absences throughout the pandemic, will reopen for the autumn term on Thursday. In an […]

DfE threatened with legal action over ‘unlawful’ Covid attendance rules

The government is being threatened with legal action if it fails to update attendance guidance for vulnerable children and families during the pandemic. The Good Law Project has written to education secretary Gavin Williamson asking him to issue guidance that protects vulnerable children and families, arguing the current rules are unlawful Previous safety measures – […]

GCSE 2021 results: Drama

Here are the trends in the latest drama GCSE results for summer 2021. The proportion of grade 9 results achieved by students, equivalent to a high A* under the old GCSE system, rose to 12.6 per cent, compared to 9.4 per cent in 2020 and 5.2 per cent in 2019. You can find the full […]

GCSE results 2021: Religious Studies

Here are the trends in the latest religious studies GCSE results for summer 2021. The proportion of grade 9 results achieved by students, equivalent to a high A* under the old GCSE system, rose to 11.4 per cent, compared to 9.6 per cent in 2020 and 7.5 per cent in 2019. You can find the […]

GCSE results 2021: Music

Here are the trends in the latest music GCSE results for summer 2021. The proportion of grade 9 results achieved by students, equivalent to a high A* under the old GCSE system, rose to 17.7 per cent, compared to 13.6 per cent in 2020 and 8.1 per cent in 2019. You can find the full […]