John Dickens | Schools Week

Williamson ‘asleep on the job’ over coronavirus catch-up plans

The education secretary Gavin Williamson has been accused of being “asleep on the job” over his inability to explain plans for how poorer pupils off school during the pandemic will be helped to catch up. Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said during a Commons debate today that she agreed with other MPs […]

Trust threatens legal action after academies minister terminates school’s funding

A trust has threatened legal action after the academies minister ruled an ‘inadequate’ school must be handed to a new trust because the chief executive was not being “held to account”. Baroness Berridge issued a termination notice to the Khalsa Academies Trust yesterday over Khalsa Secondary Academy, a south Bucks free school put in special […]

DfE to measure school staff happiness under new wellbeing charter

The government has committed to monitoring how happy school staff are, and will publish findings alongside a new wellbeing charter. The Department for Education has committed to implementing all seven recommendations put forward by the expert group on education staff wellbeing (see below). That includes pledges to measure the wellbeing of staff at regular intervals […]

New parent and pupil panel to aid Covid-19 policymaking

The government is setting up a new online panel of 5,000 pupils and parents who will complete fortnightly surveys to inform coronavirus policymaking. The Department for Education is looking for a contractor to set up the “parent and pupil panel” to “help monitor the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on children and young people”. The […]

Back-to-school decisions are ‘hard balancing act’, chief medical officer admits

The chief medical officer has said it’s “understandable” that parents are “thinking very hard” about whether they should send their children back to school, saying weighing up the benefits and risks is a “hard balancing act”. Professor Chris Whitty, speaking at today’s Downing Street briefing, said the decision is down to “when is the right […]

Summer schools, home-learning expectations and Ofsted – how experts think pupils can catch up

The education select committee heard from social mobility experts today on how pupils can catch-up as part of its inquiry into the impact of covid-19 on education. It comes after an analysis by the Education Endowment Foundation found school closures because of the pandemic are “likely to reverse progress made to narrow the gap in […]

Boris Johnson’s former prep school to close over ‘coronavirus impact’

A 180-year-old preparatory school attended by prime minister Boris Johnson will close due to the “impact of coronavirus”. Ashdown House Preparatory School, in Sussex, has told parents and staff today the school will close at the end of this term. The independent school (pictured above), which charges yearly boarding fees of nearly £30,000, was founded […]

How prepared are schools to reopen? 5 NFER survey findings

Schools leaders believe half of parents will keep their children at home, face opening with 25 per cent fewer staff and would have preferred welcoming pupils on a rota basis. A phased reopening of some primary school to pupils in reception, year 1 and year 6 has begun today, with secondary schools expected to offer […]

DfE to tackle ‘fake news’ with its own rapid rebuttal unit

The Department for Education is setting up its own “rapid rebuttal unit” to tackle so-called “fake news” in the media. It is said to be one of the first department-specific teams in government to challenge “misinformation at the source” and ensure that “misleading content” is rebuffed before reaching the mainstream. Two job adverts for media […]