James Carr | Schools Week

Logistics fears as announcement on further mass-testing in schools ‘imminent’

A government announcement on the further rollout of mass Coronavirus testing in schools across England is “imminent”, Schools Week has learned. Organisations representing school staff have raised logistics concerns after it emerged that the government is preparing to announce a scaling up of its testing of staff, pupils and families in the new year. It […]

Schools defy council leader’s request to close

A London council has asked all schools in its borough to close and move to online learning following an “exponential growth” of Covid cases, but some are set to defy the request. On Sunday evening Greenwich council leader Dan Thorpe sent an open letter requesting all schools close as the pandemic is “now escalating extremely […]

School forced into remote learning U-turn after ministers issue ‘minded to direct’ legal letter

A school planning online learning for the final week of term to safeguard pupils’ mental health has been forced to u-turn after the government issued an official warning over potential legal action. Presdales School, in Hertfordshire, said the move was to ensure staff and pupils weren’t self-isolating on Christmas Day. But it was forced to […]

No tablet? Use your phone and a couple of cans for interview, says Cambridge uni

A Russell Group university has told students unable to access a tablet for its online admissions interview to instead balance their phone on top of tin cans. The University of Cambridge has advised candidates they will need a tablet and stylus for interviews for select subjects, as well as a laptop, after the pandemic forced […]

School laptop allocations restored to ‘original levels’ after DfE backtracks

The government is returning school laptop allocations to “original levels” less than two months after slashing them by around 80 per cent. In October, the Department for Education told headteachers their laptop allocations for disadvantaged pupils had been reduced to ensure stocks last longer. However today, as part of its daily Covid-19 update to school […]

Covid: Attendance improves for second week running, but 650,000 pupils still off

Pupil attendance has improved for a second week running, but around 650,000 pupils remain absent across England due to Covid-19 as schools continue to operate “under huge pressure”. The latest attendance data from the Department for Education (DfE) revealed between 7 and 8 per cent of the pupil population – up to 650,000 – did […]

‘Inadequate’ schools to face monitoring inspections, but no full Ofsted return until Easter

Ofsted will introduce “supportive” monitoring inspections for schools with the lowest ratings from next month, with the return of full inspections pushed back until the summer term. The announcement today was one of a raft of measures from government finally detailing how accountability in schools will look next year. Full inspections have been paused since […]

Ministers told to ‘come clean’ on regional Covid data

Ministers have been ordered to “come clean” and reveal the regional disparity in pupil attendance Covid is causing across England after refusing to answer an MP’s written question. On November 16, Labour MP West Streeting submitted a written named-day question to the DfE asking for the number and proportion of pupils missing school due to […]

Covid: Pupil absence stabilises after recent fall, but disruption still ‘significant’

The drop in pupil attendance has seemingly plateaued, but around one in 10 pupils still remain absent from school for Covid-related reasons. The latest attendance data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows that up to 798,000 pupils – between 8 and 10 per cent of the total population – did not attend school for […]