coroanavirus | Schools Week

DfE’s Covid-19 helpline goes down days before schools reopen

The Department for Education’s Covid-19 helpline is unable to take any calls from school leaders due to technical issues – with just days to go before settings are due to reopen more widely. The helpline was set up to help schools respond to the government’s latest Covid-19 policies. It also connects leaders with the Public […]

Coronavirus: Majority of teachers’ mental health declines

More than half of teachers say their mental health has declined during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the lack of timely government guidance cited as their biggest challenge. A new report from Education Support assessing the impact of coronavirus on education professionals’ mental health found 52 per cent of teachers felt their mental health and wellbeing […]

Revealed: Ofqual warned of algorithm legal risk

Ofqual warned the government that exam boards could face legal challenges over the issuing of statistically moderated grades, newly published Covid-19 planning documents have revealed. A contingency planning document sent to the government on March 16 sets out numerous risks associated with using the controversial approach which ignited last month’s exams grading fiasco . The […]

Coronavirus: AQA exam portal is ‘ripe for human error’, schools warn

An exam board’s online portal that requires schools to input potentially thousands of teacher-assessed grades one-by-one is “ripe for human error” and could result in “horribly wrong” grades, school staff have warned. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across England are providing centre-assessment grades and rankings for each pupil after summer exams were cancelled. Exam […]

Coronavirus: Tests for pupils with symptoms, no PPE needed and classes of 15

Pupils eligible to return to school on June 1 will have “access” to coronavirus testing, the Department for Education has said. The department has finally published additional information for schools, more than 24 hours after Boris Johnson announced the government’s intention to have some primary pupils return to school as early as June 1. The […]