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21 April 2026

Tag: COVID-19

When will schools reopen? How ministers responded to that key question this week

After announcing the current partial schools closures will last until at least February half-term, politicians are now increasingly being quizzed about how and when they expect schools to reopen fully. Prime minister Boris Johnson suggested this week it was still too early to tell if any rules can be relaxed by the middle of next […]

DfE plans two-year extension to National Tutoring Programme

The Department for Education intends to extend its National Tutoring Programme for a further two years, Schools Week can reveal. Launched in November to help children catch up on learning lost during the pandemic, the £350 million scheme is due to run until 2022. It’s important that policymakers continue to assess the impact of the […]

Food parcels fiasco: How the pandemic exposed free school meals failures…again

The government is facing questions over its handling of the free school meals fiasco after it emerged that ministers pushed schools to prioritise food parcels following lobbying by the catering industry. Making sure children get proper, healthy meals should be the top priority for ministers, not listening to lobbyists from the catering industry Department for […]

Edenred is back: Free school meals voucher scheme to relaunch Monday

The government’s national free school meals voucher scheme will relaunch next Monday and be run by original supplier Edenred – with schools now given the freedom to provide food in whatever way they see fit. Ministers announced their intention to restart the voucher programme last week, but did not confirm details until today. The scheme […]

Ofsted inspections to be done remotely after U-turn

Ofsted monitoring inspections will now take place remotely until half term, following a U-turn by the watchdog. The inspectorate had been due to begin in-person monitoring inspections of schools from next week. However, Ofsted announced tonight that following a review of its plans, it has decided that “all planned inspection activity will be undertaken remotely […]

Pupil absence due to school closures almost trebled in last week of term

The number of pupils missing school due to Covid-related closures nearly trebled in the last week of the autumn term, with one council area reporting secondary attendance of just 14 per cent. The latest attendance data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows the scale of disruption schools were facing in the same week the […]

DfE pledges 300,000 more laptops – but unclear when they’ll be delivered

The Department for Education has pledged to provide an additional 300,000 laptops and tablets to assist poorer pupils with remote learning, but has not said when they will all be delivered. The announcement takes the total number of devices pledged to 1.3 million. Around 700,000 have so far been delivered to schools and councils. The […]

Fact check: What does the guidance on key worker children attendance actually say?

Changing guidance and interventions from ministers has created confusion over which pupils should be attending school, putting further pressure on headteachers. After announcing last Monday that schools would remain open to vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers until February half term at the earliest, the government has since sought to encourage critical workers […]