James Carr | Schools Week

Laptops: DfE on track to meet distribution target as over 1.2 million devices now sent

The Department for Education is on track to meet its target of delivering most of the 1.3 million laptops and tablets promised to pupils in need by the end of this week. Data released by the DfE today shows the DfE has dispatched or delivered 1,217,194 devices to schools and local authorities since the scheme […]

Don’t hand out Covid testing kits to pupils’ families, DfE tells schools

Schools should not distribute Covid testing kits to members of their pupils’ households, the Department for Education has said, following the announcement that families will now also qualify for free twice-weekly tests. On Sunday, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced that households with children of school-age will get free equipment to test […]

DfE’s Covid-19 helpline goes down days before schools reopen

The Department for Education’s Covid-19 helpline is unable to take any calls from school leaders due to technical issues – with just days to go before settings are due to reopen more widely. The helpline was set up to help schools respond to the government’s latest Covid-19 policies. It also connects leaders with the Public […]

Remote education: Schools cut screen time to boost mental and physical health

Schools have introduced “comfort breaks” and reduced screen time to boost the mental and physical health of staff and pupils during remote education. Since the third lockdown began in January schools have had to provide remote education for most pupils but some have adapted their approach after feedback from staff, pupils and parents. Although all […]

Academy trust will take battle to keep school to the High Court

An academy trust will take its legal battle to keep hold of one of its schools to the High Court in a claim which, if successful, could create “new possibilities” for trusts in similar positions. Khalsa Academies Trust has won permission to apply for a judicial review of a government decision to terminate the funding […]

Longer days and early appointments on cards as schools gear up for ‘mammoth’ Covid testing effort

School leaders are exploring staggered starts and extended days to ease the “mammoth logistical task” of mass Covid testing returning pupils. Boris Johnson announced on Monday that schools would begin reopening from March 8, with secondaries testing pupils three times on-site in their first two weeks back. Some leaders said that larger schools would struggle, […]

National Tutoring Programme: Schools could pay 90% of session costs within three years as DfE ‘tapers’ subsidies

Government plans to “taper” subsidies for tuition delivered by its flagship National Tutoring Programme could leave schools having to pay 90 per cent of the cost of sessions within three years. The Department for Education has published a £62 million tender for a supplier to run the NTP between May this year and next August. […]

Ofsted monitoring inspections paused for week of schools’ return

Ofsted will pause its remote monitoring inspections for the week beginning March 8 to allow schools to focus on wider reopening. The watchdog has been carrying out remote monitoring visits since January in place of routine in-person inspections, which have been suspended during the pandemic. But the inspectorate has updated its guidance this afternoon to […]

Lost learning study: Pupils in poorer-intake schools further behind in reading, and 4 other key findings

Pupils in schools with the poorest intakes are further behind in reading than their counterparts in schools with more affluent rolls, a study into lost learning caused by Covid-19 has found. The Department for Education has released the first report from a research project run by Renaissance Learning and the Education Policy Institute, which was […]