schools reopening | Schools Week

Schools can afford Covid reopening costs from existing budgets, DfE insists

Schools that incur extra costs during the process of reopening more widely will have to meet them from their existing budgets, the Department for Education has confirmed. In updated guidance on its exceptional costs fund for schools, the government states that schools are “not eligible to make claims for any additional costs associated with more […]

Year 10 attendance reaches just 16% in first week of phased return

Just over 16 per cent of year 10 pupils were back in open secondary schools last Monday, well short of the 25 per cent limit imposed by the government. Ministers asked secondary schools to begin face-to-face support for up to a quarter of year 10 and 12 pupils from June 15. But attendance figures published […]

Johnson: Schools will return in September ‘with full attendance’

Schools will reopen with “full attendance” in September, the prime minister has said, as he announced a relaxation of social distancing rules in England. Boris Johnson told the House of Commons today that “primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance”, adding that “those children who can already go to school, should […]

Williamson wants whole-class ‘bubbles’ from September

The government will look into expanding “bubbles” in schools to include whole classes so all pupils can return in September. Gavin Williamson delivered today’s Downing Street press briefing, and fielded a number of questions about the government’s plans for the reopening of schools in the next academic year. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, said earlier […]

Schools advised to spend £650m catch-up cash on summer activities, longer days and extra books

Schools are being advised to spend their £650 million coronavirus catch-up cash on summer programmes and longer school days, as well as tuition under the new national tutoring programme. New government-backed guidance from the Education Endowment Foundation has set out the interventions schools could spend their additional catch-up funding on. It follows an announcement that […]

Long-read: Will the government’s back-to-school plans actually work?

Government guidance on getting pupils back to school was updated (again) this week. School leaders say it’s another ham-fisted change. Schools Week investigates… Government advice that primaries run classes in nearby secondary schools is a “crazy hand grenade” that does not make up for the lack of a “long-term plan”, say frustrated school leaders. In […]

Coronavirus: Less than two fifths of eligible primary pupils return in second week of reopening

Less than two fifths of eligible pupils had returned to open primary schools by Thursday last week, almost two weeks after the government encouraged primaries to welcome back more children. The latest attendance data from the Department for Education shows 67 per cent of primary schools had reopened to more pupils by June 11, up […]

Coronavirus: Over 1 in 10 secondary schools set to defy government’s June 15 reopening plan

More than one in ten secondary schools look set to ignore government calls to begin reopening to year 10 and 12 pupils next week. A poll by Teacher Tapp found that although over 70 per cent of state secondary school staff reported their school would open more widely next week, 13 per cent said they […]

Ministers to drop ambition to see all primary pupils back before summer – reports

The government is to drop its ambition to see all pupils return to primary school before the summer, according to reports in several national newspapers. Ministers had hoped to see all primary-age pupils return for at least a few weeks before the break, but have faced pressure to drop the aim after a mixed response […]