COVID-19 | Schools Week

Consider allowing pupils to wear additional clothing indoors, DfE tells schools

Schools should consider allowing pupils to wear “additional, suitable indoor items of clothing” during the winter as classrooms get colder because of the need for ventilation, the Department for Education has said. In updated action for schools guidance published today, the DfE said increased ventilation “may make school buildings cooler than usual over the winter […]

Gibb ‘misspoke’ when he said all schools were in ‘tier 1’

The schools minister “misspoke” when he told MPs yesterday that all schools are at tier one of the government’s contain framework, the Department for Education has clarified. When asked during an education select committee hearing yesterday how the tiers in the contain framework interact with the separate system of tiers of national lockdown, Nick Gibb […]

Nick Gibb at education committee: 7 things we learned

Schools minister Nick Gibb has suggested some grade inflation will be allowed again next year to cater for lockdown learning losses, but revealed he’s more worried about making exams fair for pupils in worst-hit areas who are more likely to have missed school since September. Education select committee MPs grilled Gibb for over two hours […]

£140m of tuition catch-up cash remains unspent

The government is unlikely to deliver on its promise to provide £350 million in tuition catch-up cash this year. A Schools Week investigation has established that nearly £140 million – 40 per cent – of the promised funding remains unspent. This is yet more sleight of hand from government. Again, they’ve over-promised but under-delivered It’s […]

Coronavirus: Almost 1 in 10 schools now partially closed

Almost one in ten schools in England was partially closed as of last week, new government data shows. Attendance statistics published by the Department for Education show the proportion of state schools that were fully open fell to 90.8 per cent as of last Thursday, down from 92.4 per cent the week before. Eight per […]

DfE wields axe on teacher training bursaries as Covid causes supply rises

The government has slashed some teacher training bursaries by as much as 73 per cent, with others scrapped altogether, as the supply of people wanting to be teachers rises because of the coronavirus. New guidance on initial teacher training funding for the 2021-22 academic year shows all bursaries previously offered by the government to trainees […]

Exams 2021: Most GCSEs and A-levels pushed back three weeks

Pupils will still sit one GCSE English and one GCSE maths exam before the summer half term next year, despite a move to push most other exams back by three weeks. The Department for Education has confirmed today that most GCSE and A-level exams will take place three weeks later than usual in 2021, to […]

11 special Covid-19 gongs for schools sector in Queen’s birthday honours

Eleven people from the English schools community are to be recognised for their contribution during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Queen’s birthday honours list. Among those recognised for their work are Oak National Academy principal Matt Hood and curriculum lead David Thomas, who will both receive the OBE. Outside the sector, Marcus Rashford, the footballer […]

Schools take £900m Covid hit, but few get cash help

New figures show that the cost of Covid safety measures for schools across England has soared to almost £400 million. And in a “double whammy” on school budgets, missed income opportunities following the pandemic have now surpassed £500 million. Schools need the government to make good these unanticipated but necessary costs in order to protect […]