coronavirus | Schools Week

Partial closures ‘will continue until we have a vaccine’, says national schools commissioner

Schools having to fully and partially close and then reopen will “become a way of life” until a coronavirus vaccine is found, the national schools commissioner has said. Opening, reopening, closing, partially closing will continue until we have a vaccine, become a way of life Dominic Herrington issued the warning during an online conference for academy […]

Letter used by PM as evidence of school ‘safety’ warned of need for ‘prompt availability of testing’

A statement by the UK’s chief medical officers referenced by Boris Johnson as evidence that schools are safe warned that the “prompt availability of testing” was “key” to the safe return of pupils to schools. The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday that advice from government medical officers showed there was “an exceptionally small risk […]

Government doing ‘level best’ to get school pupils tested, claims Johnson

The prime minister dodged questions about a lack of Covid testing available for school pupils in the House of Commons, claiming the government is doing its “level best” to test every child with symptoms. Boris Johnson was grilled on problems with access to testing for school pupils by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Statistics released […]

Schools to stay open as Johnson announces tougher lockdown restrictions

Schools, colleges and universities “will stay open”, despite a ramping up of lockdown restrictions in England, Boris Johnson has said. Announcing a plethora of tougher measures including an enforced 10pm closing time for pubs and a plea for workers to once again work from home if they can, Johnson said the country had reached a […]

Proportion of schools not fully open due to Covid quadruples in a week

The proportion of schools reporting that they are not fully open because of suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 has quadrupled in a week. Attendance data from the Department for Education showed that 4 per cent of schools reported they were not fully open because of Covid as of last Thursday, up from 1 per […]

Starmer demands taskforce to close attainment gap

A national taskforce run by an independent body like the children’s commissioner should be set up to plan a national strategy to close the attainment gap, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader told the party’s “Connected” online conference this morning that the country needs “a national strategy with clear targets to close the […]

Heads’ anxiety peaked before lockdown and school reopenings, finds UCL study

Anxiety among headteachers peaked after partial school closures and phased reopenings were announced, but teachers’ wellbeing stayed “largely the same” during lockdown, according to a new study. Analysis of survey data collected by Teacher Tapp by UCL and paid-for by the Nuffield Foundation found that 38 per cent of heads reported “very high” work-related anxiety […]

Teachers fifth on priority list for testing, but no place for school pupils

Teachers with Covid-19 symptoms will be fifth on the government’s priority list for testing, it has been announced. But school pupils do not feature anywhere on the list, despite a pledge by ministers that they too would be given priority. We are continuing to improve the testing system to ensure teaching staff can get priority […]

Fears HSE spot checks will be latest outsourcing ‘disaster’

The government’s “disastrous” record on outsourcing has left school leaders fearing the new coronavirus health and safety spot checks might “fall short”. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is making 15-minute phone calls to check schools in England have risk assessments in place and “appropriate arrangements” to reduce the risk posed by Covid-19. Inspectors could […]