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14 April 2026

Tag: school closures

Tier 4 failure to blame for schools shutting, says Johnson

The government was forced to partially close schools across England because its tier 4 restrictions did not suppress the virus enough, the prime minister has admitted. Boris Johnson told today’s Downing Street press briefing that in the days leading up to Sunday, the government was “hoping that we would start to see some impact and […]

Spring school closures: What we know so far

Boris Johnson has announced the closure of schools to most pupils until at least February half term. The announcement was light on detail, and further guidance hasn’t been put out yet, but here’s what we know so far.   1. Schools to move to remote learning Johnson announced this evening that schools will move to […]

Schools closed to most pupils and ‘alternative arrangements’ for exams

Schools in England will be closed to all but the most vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers from tomorrow until February half term at the earliest, and exams won’t go ahead as normal this summer, Boris Johnson has announced. During a televised address to the nation tonight, the prime minister said the tougher […]

What does the latest attendance data tell us about the scale of the Covid problem?

The government must make better data available and provide more catch-up funding to stop pupils falling further behind, writes Natalie Perera. The question over how we support recovery of the education system post-Covid looms large for policy-makers, researchers and those on the front line. The reality is that we are all trying to find solutions […]

Snow days melt into the mists of time

Most people can remember listening to the radio or checking their school’s website to see if snow had shut its gates.  But with the strides in remote learning during the pandemic, could disrupted learning because of the fluffy white stuff be a distant memory? Dan Bunker, an educational technologist for primary at United Learning, said […]

Schools defy council leader’s request to close

A London council has asked all schools in its borough to close and move to online learning following an “exponential growth” of Covid cases, but some are set to defy the request. On Sunday evening Greenwich council leader Dan Thorpe sent an open letter requesting all schools close as the pandemic is “now escalating extremely […]

Fewer than 1 in 5 teachers support calls for full school lockdowns

Fewer than one in five teachers want schools to close, but over two in five think rotas should be enacted, a new poll has found. A survey of over 8,000 school staff by Teacher Tapp found that just 17 per cent wanted schools to close to all except the children of keyworkers and vulnerable pupils […]

Schools to remain open during second national lockdown, PM confirms

Schools in England will remain open during the month-long national lockdown due to begin on Thursday, Boris Johnson has confirmed. The second national lockdown announced by the prime minister today will see pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops shut and socialising between households banned indoors in all parts of England from 12.01am on Thursday. But schools, […]