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30 May 2026

Author: Samantha Booth

Exam boards to use one-seventh of usual examiner workforce this summer

Exam boards will save millions by using only one-seventh of the examiners they would usually need in a normal year, while teachers spend their spare time marking assessment papers for GCSEs and A-levels. It comes as 10,000 educators signed a National Education Union letter requesting £500 compensation for teachers involved in deciding grades this year. […]

Five key findings from Ofqual’s research on assistive technology in assessment

Some exam papers don’t work well with assistive technology, causing “frustration” for teachers students, Ofqual research has found. The exams regulator has published a new analysis paper looking to “better understand” the use of assistive technology (AT) for pupils with disabilities or impairments and ensure regulation “remains fit for purpose”. AT includes any device, software […]

A tenth of England’s schools and colleges named on Everyone’s Invited website

A tenth of all schools and colleges in England have been named in testimonies on the Everyone’s Invited website detailing rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. The campaign, which urges young sexual abuse survivors to share their stories on its website, last night published a list of about 2,700 English education institutions mentioned alongside anonymous allegations […]

EPI: Recovery funding ‘little more’ than was spent on ‘Eat Out to Help Out’

Funding for education recovery in the next academic year amounts to “little more” than was spent on the month-long “Eat Out to Help Out” initiative, a think tank has warned. Education Policy Institute analysis found that funding for recovery schemes in the 2021-22 academic year amounts to around £984 million. In contrast, the government spent […]

Schools promised cash for staff to oversee ‘priority’ appeals in summer holidays

Funding will be made available for schools and colleges to bring in staff during the summer holiday period to deal with “priority” appeals. The Department for Education has confirmed that funding of £75 per “priority appeal” – those which are needed for a student to take up a university offer – will be made available. […]

Randstad’s tutoring contract worth £37m less than total offered by DfE

Dutch outsourcing giant Randstad will take over the National Tutoring Programme for tens of millions of pounds less than the maximum amount being offered by the Department for Education. Tender documents published in February stated that up to £62 million was available to bidders for the second phase of the NTP. But documents show Ranstad’s […]

DfE’s £1.4bn education recovery plan: what you need to know

The government has announced the first set of measures under its long-awaited education recovery plan today – but schools have been left waiting on proposals for an extended day. The £1.4 billion policies include £1 billion for tuition, on top of the £1.7 billion already announced for catch-up. A total of £579 million will help […]

Government won’t say if mental health ‘first aid’ training started for primaries

The government is refusing to to say whether its mental health “first aid” training for all primary schools has started. The roll-out is an important strand of its promise to transform children’s mental health. In response to the 2018 green paper on young people’s mental health, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, and Damian Hinds, then […]