NAHT | Schools Week

DfE to offer new headteachers ‘targeted support’ during first two years in post

The Department for Education has announced a “targeted support package” for new headteachers, offering additional training in the first two years of headship. School leaders and experts welcomed the measures, but warned they must come with funding attached amid stretched school budgets. The extra training will be offered to those who are either currently taking […]

Whiteman’s Wishlist: NAHT boss sets out his demands to ministers

The NAHT school leaders’ union will hold its annual general meeting today, with general secretary Paul Whiteman due to take the stand for a big speech on what headteachers want to see from government. The meeting, which would normally coincide with the union’s annual conference, is taking place virtually because of the pandemic. Here’s what […]

Back-to-school plans in chaos as unions launch legal action

The government’s back-to-school plans are in chaos after leadership unions began legal action and the country’s largest teaching union told its members they don’t have to work in unsafe environments. The government announced on Wednesday that most primary schools will reopen next week, while the start of term for secondaries was pushed back to January […]

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 […]

NAHT: 4 in 5 schools have pupils isolating because of lack of tests

Headteachers have reported that pupils at more than four in five schools are isolating because they can’t get access to a Covid test. A survey of 736 school leaders by the leadership union NAHT found that 82 per cent of schools have children currently not attending because they cannot access a test to rule out […]

Exams 2020: Education unions call for ‘urgent’ inquiry into grades fiasco

Unions representing hundreds of thousands of school staff have demanded an independent inquiry into the exam grades fiasco. Teaching unions the National Education Union and NASUWT, along with leadership unions NAHT and ASCL, have written to education secretary Gavin Williamson calling for an “urgent and independent” inquiry into the process of awarding A-levels, GCSEs and […]

Coronavirus: 50% oppose back-to-school plans as trust in government slumps

The government’s plan for the wider reopening of schools from today is opposed by half of Britons, a new survey shows. It comes as headteachers estimate between 40 to 70 per cent of eligible pupils have returned to school today, while education secretary Gavin Williamson told schools there is “no reason” why they shouldn’t take […]

Coronavirus: Final schools reopening decision ‘to be made on May 28’

Ministers will make the final decision on whether to press ahead with its schools reopening plan on May 28, a union leader has revealed. Geoff Barton (pictured above left), the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the government will “review the latest science” next Thursday, and that the return of […]

Coronavirus: Largest heads’ union says it wasn’t consulted over June 1 return plan

The country’s largest headteachers’ union was not consulted on the government’s proposal to allow certain year groups to return to school on June 1, its general secretary has revealed. Paul Whiteman, the leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, which mostly represents primary school leaders, told the Parliamentary education committee this morning that conversations […]