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26 April 2026

Tag: coronavirus

What did we learn from Nick Gibb about mass-testing in schools?

The schools minister Nick Gibb has set out further details about the government’s mass-testing programme for schools, which is due to begin in January. Ministers announced on Tuesday that secondary school staff will get routine weekly tests from January and that staff and pupils who were close contacts of positive cases will also get a […]

Schools find new ways to help their communities at a time of crisis

From lunch deliveries and food banks to mobile libraries and “reverse” advent calendars, schools have stepped up to the Covid challenge by transforming the way they engage with their communities. As schools across England closed to most children in March, staff turned their attention not just to supporting vulnerable pupils, but also to vulnerable people […]

‘No plans’ to lengthen Christmas holidays but talks going on about ‘how’ pupils will return

The government doesn’t have “any plans to lengthen” the Christmas holidays, but “conversations” are ongoing about “how” pupils will go back, the Department for Education’s top civil servant has said. Appearing in front of the Parliamentary public accounts committee, DfE permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood was quizzed about reports that ministers are considering a delay to […]

Teachers report rise in non-Covid persistent absence

Three in ten teachers have reported a surge in non-Covid-related persistent absences, with the problem more acute in the most deprived schools. Polling by Teacher Tapp for the Centre for Social Justice think tank has found that 30 per cent of teachers said they had experienced more persistent absences that weren’t to do with illness […]

Hypnotherapist helps to overcome teacher stress

Teachers at an east London primary have teamed up with a sports hypnotherapist who improves “mental toughness” in elite athletes to combat the challenges and stress of the pandemic. The initiative, along with online parental support groups, support dogs and yoga, are some of the measures schools have introduced as they prioritise improving mental health […]

Attendance gap between local authority areas has widened, new data shows

Attendance in state secondary schools still varies massively across England, according to the first regional data published by the government in two months. In fact, the gap between the areas with the highest and lowest attendance rates for secondary schools as of last week had actually widened to 40 percentage points, up from 33 percentage […]