coronavirus | Schools Week

Plan to move 2021 exams to June ‘little more than tinkering at the edges’ – heads’ leader

A proposal to delay the start of exams until June next year amounts to “little more than tinkering at the edges of next year’s exams”, a heads’ leader has said. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said the proposal to start exams on June 7 “adds up to a […]

Dropping GCSEs only for ‘exceptional circumstances’, leaked DfE guidance states

School leaders will be told to only allow GCSE students to drop a subject in “exceptional circumstances” next year, according to draft guidance on the reopening of schools. Leaked details of the proposals were first revealed yesterday by HuffPost UK, which reported that the guidance set out how “some pupils may have to drop some […]

Coronavirus: Autumn series grades to be based only on exams, Ofqual confirms

Pupils performance in this year’s autumn exam series will be based on pupil performance in the tests alone, not on any non-exam assessment, Ofqual has confirmed. The exams regulator has published its decisions following a consultation on the autumn series, which will allow students who are not happy with their summer calculated grades to sit […]

Three in four secondary schools reopen to more pupils

Almost three in four secondary schools began face-to-face support for year 10 and 12 pupils last week, while almost nine in ten primary schools had reopened more widely. The latest attendance data from the Department for Education shows 89 per cent of schools normally open to reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils had reopened […]

Oak National Academy could collect ‘basic data’ on users, says chair

The Oak National Academy could begin to collect “some basic data” about its users, its chair has said. Ian Bauckham told a Westminster Education Forum event on education technology this morning that there was a “huge level of interest in the data that we could collect”, and said the site may “move into the realm of […]

Whole-year-group bubbles, dropped GCSEs and Ofsted inspections still suspended in draft DfE guidance – reports

Social distancing will be lifted for pupils but teachers will still have to keep away from others as much as possible, under draft guidance reportedly drawn up by the government for the return of pupils in September. HuffPost UK has revealed details from draft guidance still being finalised and due to be published later this […]

School absence fines will resume in September, says Williamson

Parents could be fined if they fail to send their children back to school in September, the education secretary has said. But the decision potentially puts headteachers in the firing line, as they have the final decision on whether to “authorise” absences from school. Gavin Williamson told LBC this morning that “unless there is a […]

New NLEs have to show high standards with ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’

Only leaders who achieve high standards “in the context of a knowledge-rich curriculum” can become national leaders of education (NLEs). In February, the NLE advisory group published its review to shake-up the system, including recommendations to allow “transformative” academy trust chief executives and improvement directors into the programme. NLEs are successful school leaders who work […]

Dame Alison Peacock: Don’t ‘guilt trip’ teachers into working over summer

Teachers must not be “guilt-tripped” into working on summer catch-up programmes run by schools, the head of the Chartered College of Teaching has said. Dame Alison Peacock said it would be “foolhardy” to expect teachers to “just take a few days off and then come back in again over the summer”, warning that “exhausted” teachers and […]