Schools Week Reporter | Schools Week

Katharine Birbalsingh to become government’s new social mobility tsar

Country’s ‘strictest head’ previously said ‘woke are racist’ and warned against teaching “white privilege”

Bring back bubbles and masks in classroom, unions tell Zahawi

A joint letter from five unions, also sent to councils, calls for urgent action as cases rise

NAHT wants more support to ease heads’ workload

Leaders’ union will debate conference motion to investigate how to better support workloads

Zahawi appoints former head Mark Lehain as policy adviser

Former director of the New Schools Network and Parents and Teachers for Excellence joins DfE team

Ministers ponder pilot scheme for ‘mini-UTCs’ within schools

The Baker Dearing Trust is hoping to pilot what they call ‘UTC sleeves’ in ten schools

DfE ITT market review: the 9 things you need to know

The Department for Education has published its initial teacher training market review and consultation on the recommendations today. Schools Week has been through both documents so you don’t have to. Here are the key things you need to know. 1. DfE wants ALL providers to apply for reaccreditation The DfE is proposing to re-accredit […]

DfE officials plan schools white paper to deliver Williamson’s ‘vision’ for schools

Gavin Williamson has pledged to set out a “broader vision” for the school system later this year, with officials understood to be planning a white paper. That’s one of those key planks, finishing those reforms that were started back in 2010 Asked about his plans for schools, Williamson said the system would be “moving over […]

Fire chiefs to challenge government over ‘backward step’ of sprinklers plans

Fire chiefs are set to challenge a government consultation on sprinklers in classrooms, claiming the proposals are “taking the standards of fire safety in schools backwards”. A long-awaited consultation to the Fire Safety Design for Schools bulletin was launched last month. The non-statutory guidance proposes that automatic fire suppression systems – such as sprinklers – […]

New Covid study finds no reading loss, but confirms maths drop

Interim findings from another study into Covid lost learning have been published today. This one, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and carried out by FFT Education, investigates whether Covid has widened the attainment gap. Here’s what it found. 1. Gap widens in maths, but not reading… The study found the attainment gap between […]