COVID-19 | Schools Week

Schools want ed tech demonstrator scheme to keep going

Schools are joining together to ensure that the “legacy” of the rerouted EdTech Demonstrators scheme stretches beyond the pandemic. The government programme was announced as part of the Department for Education’s edtech strategy in 2019 to help teachers utilise technology to reduce workload, support professional development and improve pupils’ results. However, the DfE shifted the […]

Snow days melt into the mists of time

Most people can remember listening to the radio or checking their school’s website to see if snow had shut its gates. But with the strides in remote learning during the pandemic, could disrupted learning because of the fluffy white stuff be a distant memory? Dan Bunker, an educational technologist for primary at United Learning, said […]

Williamson told education committee to keep exam meeting details secret

A Parliamentary committee was asked to keep details of meetings about this summer’s exams fiasco secret in return for “summaries” of key documents, it has emerged. In September, the education select committee requested all correspondence and minutes of meetings held between the Department for Education and Ofqual about the summer exams. It also asked for […]

Logistics fears as announcement on further mass-testing in schools ‘imminent’

A government announcement on the further rollout of mass Coronavirus testing in schools across England is “imminent”, Schools Week has learned. Organisations representing school staff have raised logistics concerns after it emerged that the government is preparing to announce a scaling up of its testing of staff, pupils and families in the new year. It […]

Schools defy council leader’s request to close

A London council has asked all schools in its borough to close and move to online learning following an “exponential growth” of Covid cases, but some are set to defy the request. On Sunday evening Greenwich council leader Dan Thorpe sent an open letter requesting all schools close as the pandemic is “now escalating extremely […]

School PE kit policy is saving time and space

A pandemic policy for children to arrive and stay in their sports kit on the days they have PE is helping to save time and create much-needed space, according to headteachers. Dr Victoria Carr, the head of Woodlands Primary School in Ellesmere Port, now has five extra spaces for one-to-one or group learning from former […]

The new school day (and it’s not as you’ve known it)

Headteachers say that Covid-driven changes to the traditional school day – such as staggered break times and longer lessons – have halted playground clashes and reduced low-level disruption. A major challenge for schools has been how to implement bubbles of pupils, aimed at reducing transmission between classrooms. To help with catch-up and minimise the movement […]

Mass testing in London, Essex and Kent schools: Everything you need to know

The government has given more details on how its mass testing programme in London, Essex and Kent secondary schools will be rolled out. Health secretary Matt Hancock announced last night that government had “decided to put in place an immediate plan for testing all secondary school age children in the seven worst-affected areas of London, […]

No tablet? Use your phone and a couple of cans for interview, says Cambridge uni

A Russell Group university has told students unable to access a tablet for its online admissions interview to instead balance their phone on top of tin cans. The University of Cambridge has advised candidates they will need a tablet and stylus for interviews for select subjects, as well as a laptop, after the pandemic forced […]