Samantha Booth | Schools Week

How schools are coping with the Covid teacher recruitment boom

The pandemic-spurred boom in teacher recruitment has continued this year with the arrival of another wave of potential recruits. But, as schools are forced to limit on-site attendance amid a third lockdown, can they handle this influx of new trainees? A Covid recruitment boost saw the number of people starting initial teacher training (ITT) courses […]

Grade appeals should be made to exam boards not schools, say unions

Appeals against grades issued this summer should be made directly to exam boards and not to schools and colleges, a group of unions and professional bodies has warned. The ASCL and NAHT leadership unions, along with the National Education Union and NASUWT teaching unions, have teamed up with the National Governance Association and Association of […]

Covid-19 vaccine denied for special school staff – and then reinstated

A clinical commissioning group has apologised for the confusion it created after cancelling Covid-19 vaccine appointments for special school staff – before reinstating them. Schools Week revealed last week that thousands of special school staff had been offered the vaccine. But the approaches nationwide vary, with some local authorities including staff in the priority roll-out […]

Teacher grades to be used after Pearson cancels IGCSE exams

Pearson is cancelling exams for its international GCSEs and A-level series and instead using teacher assessed grades. The board said they had made the decision to “ensure a level playing field for all” and to protect the safety and wellbeing of students. The qualifications are mostly taken by private schools because they do not count […]

‘Too slow’: More delays as lost learning expert group ‘refocused’

An expert group promised by ministers to provide solutions to uneven lost learning across the country is now being “refocused”, leaving its membership still up in the air two months after being announced. Before exams were cancelled in December, the Department for Education announced the advisory panel would “monitor and advise on lost and differential […]

Pupil wellbeing ‘dashboards’ to help school support

Schools in Manchester will be able to use a pupil wellbeing dashboard to see how well their students are coping in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. A £900,000 pioneering programme, led by the University of Manchester and the mental health charity Anna Freud Centre, aims to survey between 30-50,000 year 8 and 10 pupils […]

Boards back down on exam fees demand

Schools can now delay paying exam fees after boards offered concessions following a backlash about their plans to raise prices in a year when exams will not be held. A Schools Week investigation revealed last week that boards had increased their fees across GCSEs and A-levels between 2 and 5 per cent. They had pledged […]

Ofqual loses Stacey’s input as 2021 committee disbanded

An Ofqual committee originally set up to oversee the summer exam series is to be disbanded as GCSE and A-levels have been cancelled. It means the experienced former chief regulator, Dame Glenys Stacey, will now no longer have a role in overseeing this summer’s grading system. As revealed by Schools Week , Stacey was to […]

Students make up half of respondents to ‘largest ever’ exams consultation

Nearly 47,000 students have responded to the government’s call to have their say on replacing exams this summer – making up half of all responses in what is thought to be the Department for Education’s largest ever consultation. It marks a huge increase from the student voice in last year’s consultation to replace exams, when […]