Schools Week Reporter | Schools Week

Coronavirus: Legal challenges ‘certain’ over SEND rule changes

New emergency powers that “relax” requirements on councils to provide support for SEND pupils will “most certainly” lead to legal challenges, lawyers have warned. The proposed coronavirus bill states councils won’t be penalised for failing to provide support outlined in pupils’ education, health and care plans (EHCPs) as long as they show “reasonable endeavours” to […]

Coronavirus: Fears lockdown will lead to a widening inequality gap

School leaders are worried about a widening inequality gap as state schools fall behind their private counterparts in using online teaching platforms to educate housebound pupils. A survey by pollsters Teacher Tapp found three-quarters of private school teachers had set work through an online learning platform, compared to 65 per cent of state-funded schools. We […]

Coronavirus: New text messaging service launched to help teacher wellbeing

A free text messaging service is being launched to support the wellbeing of teachers during the coronavirus crisis. The TeachTogether service will send weekly text messages to teachers including supportive quotes from other professionals, advice and links to useful activities during school closures and beyond. It is being launched by The Chartered College of Teaching […]

School absence fines rise again as landmark court ruling continues to have an impact

The number of fines issued for poor school attendance have continued to increase sharply following a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the matter, new figures have revealed. In 2018-19, the number of these notices issued to parents has increased by 28 per cent to 333,400, up from 260,900 in 2017-18. In the previous year’s data, […]

Unauthorised absence rate remains at highest since records began

Unauthorised pupil absence rates have remained at the highest since records began over a decade ago, new figures show. While the overall absence rate has slightly decreased, driven by a drop in authorised absences, the rate of unauthorised remained at 1.4 per cent in 2018-19, the same as the year before. This is the highest […]

Coronavirus: Children’s minister claims relaxing SEND support rules ‘strikes right balance’

New emergency powers that “relax” requirements on councils to provide support for SEND pupils “strike the right balance in difficult times”, the government has said. The proposed coronavirus bill states councils won’t be penalised for failing to provide support outlined in pupils’ education, health and care plans (EHCPs) as long as they show “reasonable endeavours” […]

Coronavirus: How schools have dealt with day one of mass closures

Schools saw a “manageable” number of pupils arrive at their doors today as they begin to adjust to a new way of working, as parents “heeded calls” to keep their children at home unless they had no other option. But things did not go as smoothly elsewhere – with leaders reporting the requirement to submit […]

Primary school headteacher dies after having coronavirus symptoms

Tributes have been paid to an “incredible” primary school headteacher who died after being diagnosed with coronavirus. Wendy Jacobs, head of Roose Community Primary School, in Cumbria, passed away on Sunday. She had tested positive for coronavirus and had been in intensive care in hospital. In a statement released to national newspapers, Jacobs’ family said: “On […]

Coronavirus: Government will move staff to keep ‘majority’ of special schools open

The government wants to keep the “majority” of special schools open amid the coronavirus crisis, and will move staff into those with shortages if necessary to avoid closure. Some schools with highly vulnerable pupils shut this week after government guidance on Monday stated people with underlying health issues should observe social distancing, with staff also […]