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30 May 2026

Author: Samantha Booth

Let schools tell pupils their teacher assessment grades before submission, says exam board

Strict rules forbidding schools from telling pupils their teacher assessment grades should be dropped this year to prevent “sudden surprises” and reduce appeals, an exam board has said. Ofqual proposes that schools should not tell students the grade they have submitted to exam boards this summer. Pupils would instead have an option to appeal after […]

Sprinklers still not mandatory for school rebuilding projects

Sprinklers are unlikely to be made mandatory in the 50 school rebuilding projects announced last week because the government’s consultation into fire safety has been delayed. The Department for Education has committed to revising its guidance on fire safety design for new schools. The current guidance says that all new schools should have fire sprinklers […]

Department for Education looking to spend £4m on catch-up resources

The Department for Education is looking to spend nearly £4m on “free in-class and catch-up curriculum” resources to support teachers. According to a document published on Monday, “diagnostic tests” to support teachers in identifying gaps in learning may also be provided. It comes as the government’s new ‘education recovery’ commissioner Sir Kevan Collins said Covid […]

Sir Kevan Collins Q&A: Covid innovations can drive catch-up challenge

The new ‘education recovery’ commissioner believes Covid innovations such as virtual classes can be used to extend the school day and drive the catch-up challenge. Speaking to Schools Week today, Sir Kevan Collins said he was not interested in “gimmicks” to help children catch up, but is looking to the long term in his role as […]

Lost learning expert group scrapped by DfE before it’s even set up

A promise to set up an expert group to look at solutions for uneven lost learning across the country has been dropped by the Department for Education. Instead, the task of addressing lost learning will fall within the remit of Sir Kevan Collins who was appointed education recovery commissioner last week. Before exams were cancelled […]

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 […]