COVID-19 | Schools Week

Edenred won third free school meals voucher contract without open tender

The Department for Education failed to run an open tender for the most recent free school meals voucher contract, rolling it over to supplier Edenred for the third time. Ministers were criticised for not running an open tender for the first two contracts handed to Edenred last year which rose from £78 million to £425 […]

DfE tight-lipped over attendance league tables proposal

Ministers have been urged to clarify whether an “absurd” plan to base league tables on school attendance this year is going ahead despite classrooms being closed again. In December, the Department for Education announced that exams results would not be included in league tables. Instead, performance tables would include information for parents such as subjects […]

DfE faces £263k bonus bill for staff who helped set up mass testing scheme

The Department for Education faces a bill of up to £263,000 after asking staff to work over Christmas to prepare for its ill-fated schools mass testing programme. It was reported in December that the DfE had offered staff a “one-off £1,000 bonus” to help set up the programme over the break. But the mass testing […]

Online tutoring during school closures ‘feasible’, but digital divide a key barrier

Delivering online tutoring to disadvantaged pupils during partial school closures was feasible, but access to equipment presented a key barrier, the Education Endowment Foundation has found. A new report from the EEF evaluating the effectiveness of last year’s National Online Tutoring Pilot was released today. It found that delivering online tuition was feasible and the […]

‘We don’t want these volunteers’ – heads reject catch-up proposal and demand more cash

Headteachers have rejected suggestions that volunteers could supervise extra lessons and summer schools, warning that more cash and opportunities for teachers to take the time back are needed to make catch-up approaches work. Longer school days and an extension of the summer term are among suggestions put forward to help pupils catch up. Some have […]

Covid-19: Trainees can get qualified teacher status based on progress again this year

Trainee teachers unable to complete their courses because of Covid disruption will once again be able to achieve qualified teacher status based on their progress, new guidance has confirmed. The Department for Education has updated its guidance to state that initial teacher training providers will be able to recommend trainees for QTS if they are […]

Almost six in ten students improved GCSE grades in autumn exams

Almost 60 per cent of students who took autumn exams in GCSE subjects other than English and maths improved on their grades issued in the summer, new data shows. The Joint Council for Qualifications has published results for all remaining GCSE exams taken in the autumn. English language and maths results were published in January, […]

Gibb: ‘Challenge’ schools with low EBacc entries to address ‘unequal opportunities’

Schools with low EBacc entries must be “challenged” to address “unequal opportunities” in the system, Nick Gibb has said. The schools minister told MPs this morning that the government needed to “double down” on its reforms since 2010, as he warned some settings still had very low take-up of the EBacc suite of academic subjects. […]

School attendance rises to 16% as key worker numbers leap

School attendance has climbed again to around 16 per cent, with 23 per cent of primary pupils now going to school. Data published by the Department for Education today shows 15.9 per cent of pupils – around 1.29 million children – attended state schools last Thursday, up from 14.9 per cent the week before. The […]