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14 April 2026

Tag: school closures

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Covid-19 has hit exam years hardest, finds study of 62,000 pupils

Exam students have been hit hardest by Covid-19, a new report has found. A study by non-profit research organisation ImpactEd also found that those children who struggled the most were not always those previously identified as vulnerable. The study tracked things like wellbeing, anxiety and home learning in a group of more than 62,000 pupils […]

Leaders forced to cap places as school attendance rises

Primaries are being forced to cap pupil places amid soaring school attendance rates as the Covid crisis takes its toll on families. Attendance peaked at 1.2 million last week, meaning that 15 per cent of pupils were in school, the highest level recorded this term. The rise has been driven by an increase in primary […]

PM warns reopening schools faster could force Covid recovery ‘into reverse’

Boris Johnson has said it is “much better” to stick to the “prudent and cautious” approach to reopening schools so the plan to beat the pandemic is not “forced into reverse”. The prime minister was challenged during today’s Downing Street briefing on his plans to wait to reopen schools until March 8 at the earliest. […]

DfE confirms schools can reclaim lost cash after Covid testing funding change

Schools that could lose thousands of pounds because of a change in the way funding for Covid testing is allocated will be able to claim the cash back, the Department for Education has said. The clarification comes after a Schools Week investigation found a shift by the DfE to only fund testing costs based on […]

DfE knew about new strain before issuing Greenwich direction, admits top civil servant

The Department for Education knew about the highly infectious new Covid-19 variant before ordering Greenwich council to rescind its request for schools to close early for Christmas, its most senior civil servant has admitted. Susan Acland-Hood, the DfE’s permanent secretary, has written to Robert Halfon, the chair of the education select committee, to apologise for […]