John Dickens | Schools Week

New Ofsted ‘visits’: The details that schools need to know

Ofsted has revealed more details about the “visits” inspectors will be making to schools following their return to full education, ahead of the resumption of routine inspections from next year. Here’s all the nitty-gritty new details you need to know from the new operation guidance. 1. What’s the point of the visits? Interim visits […]

Ofqual moots online tests as plan B for 2021 exams

Ofqual has confirmed exams will go ahead next year come what may, saying that it is looking at online tests as a ‘plan B’ incase of lockdown disruption. The regulator was quizzed on what the 2021 exam series will look like during an education select committee hearing this morning, particularly in cases where students may […]

Ofqual: ‘Fundamental mistake’ to believe algorithm grades would ‘ever be acceptable to public’

The “fundamental mistake” made by Ofqual throughout this year’s exams debacle was to believe that its calculated grades “would ever be acceptable to the public”, the regulator’s chair has said. Roger Taylor appeared in front of the education select committee this morning to answer for the errors made in deciding GCSE and A-level grades this […]

‘Generous’ funding increases should cover £216m Covid costs, says Gibb

The government’s “generous” school budget increases should be used for estimated extra costs of £216 million to keep schools open during the coronavirus pandemic, Nick Gibb has said. Speaking today, while the schools minister said whether to compensate schools for extra costs would be kept “under review”, he indicated that government thinking is schools can […]

Read: Williamson’s open letter to parents over school reopenings

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has today issued an open letter to parents as part of the government’s drive to get pupils back to school. In the letter, Williamson warns that parents who choose not to send their children back to school “could well put a huge dent in their future life chances”. Here is the […]

Government facing exams challenge over schools ‘advised’ to deflate grades

The government is facing a fresh challenge over exam results from schools that followed advice to mark down their teacher grades to stop inflation. It comes as a member of Ofqual’s exam advisory group has also broken ranks to urge ministers they must allow schools that deflated grades a route of appeal. David Blow, executive […]

Schools that followed advice to deflate grades must now be given appeal route

The decision to use centre assessed grades means many schools are now suddenly in an unfair position and coming under attack from parents and students. Why? Because they were the schools which heeded the call from education secretary Gavin Williamson to ensure that distribution of grades followed a similar pattern to that in other years, […]

From 1 to 8 – the exams algorithm’s ‘bizarre’ grade hikes

When headteacher Jonny Mitchell heard a pupil who had been awarded a centre assessed grade (CAG) of 1 had been upgraded under Ofqual’s algorithm to an 8, he burst out laughing. “I thought it was a typo,” the Co-Op Academy Leeds head told Schools Week. But further investigation into the results for his GCSE biology […]

Top results at A-level almost double under new system

The proportion of A*s awarded to A-level pupils has almost doubled – revised results released today show. Exams regulator Ofqual has released data on GCSE and A-levels today after the government u-turned to award pupils their centre-assessed grade or the grade calculated for them by exam boards – whichever is higher. The data shows the […]