COVID-19 | Schools Week

DfE pledges £302m ‘recovery premium’ for schools and £200m summer schools fund for secondaries

Schools will split a £302 million “recovery premium” to support catch-up and secondaries will get £200 million to run summer schools programmes under plans announced by the government today. Ministers have also pledged £200 million for the “expansion” of the National Tutoring Programme, extension of the 16 to 19 tuition fund and additional support for […]

School funding chiefs at education committee: 9 things we learned

Government school funding bosses were quizzed by MPs this morning about catch-up funding, the pupil premium and school spending. The Parliamentary education committee held a hearing with Department for Education director of strategic finance Tony Foot, director for qualifications, curriculum and extra-curricular Graham Archer and Education and Skills Funding Agency director of academies and maintained […]

March 8 school reopening guidance: 13 things we learned

The government has confirmed its school reopening plans, with all settings expected to reopen on March 8. Secondary schools will be given flexibility on how they manage testing in the first week back. The need for face coverings will also be extended to secondary school classrooms. Prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed the plans in Parliament […]

PM sets out March 8 school reopening plans

Boris Johnson has set out the government’s school reopening plans, confirming that all schools will reopen to all pupils on March 8. The prime minister said that “two weeks from today, pupils and students in all schools and further education settings can safely return to face-to-face teaching, supported by twice weekly testing of secondary schools […]

Government to research ‘harms’ caused by Covid-19 to pupils and staff

The Department for Education is to commission research into how Covid-19 has impacted pupils and staff. The “rapid” data and literature review will consider “harms” to mental and physical health, domestic violence and loss of learning. Working on behalf of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), the DfE project is worth up to £85,000 […]

Health minister: ‘All schools’ to reopen on March 8

All schools will reopen to all pupils on March 8, a health minister has said, as Boris Johnson prepares to set out his “roadmap” out of the current lockdown. The prime minister is due to address the House of Commons this afternoon with further details of the government’s plan, with reports that he is planning […]

Why we shouldn’t rush to scrap GCSEs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

We need a debate about the future of education post-Covid-19, but that shouldn’t mean a rush to abolish things like GCSEs, writes Tim Oates. A lot has changed over the past year. The effect of Covid has been seismic for individuals, industries and countries around the globe. But there is now hope that mass vaccination […]

Unions reject teacher pay freeze and call on STRB to defy government

Four education unions representing hundreds of thousands of teachers and leaders have rejected the government’s pay freeze for 2021, and called on the School Teachers’ Review Body to defy ministers’ wishes and recommend a rise. The ASCL and NAHT leadership unions, along with the National Education Union and Voice, warned in a joint statement today […]

Primary school attendance now six times higher than in the last lockdown

Almost one in four primary pupils were in school last week, with attendance rates among younger pupils now six times higher than in the first lockdown. Data published by the Department for Education today shows primary school attendance reached 24 per cent on February 11, up from 23 per cent the week before. Attendance rates […]