schools reopening | Schools Week

Coronavirus: Almost 1 in 10 schools now partially closed

Almost one in ten schools in England was partially closed as of last week, new government data shows. Attendance statistics published by the Department for Education show the proportion of state schools that were fully open fell to 90.8 per cent as of last Thursday, down from 92.4 per cent the week before. Eight per […]

More schools partially closed, but attendance rises

The proportion of schools fully open to all pupils has fallen again, Department for Education analysis shows, but more pupils are attending school. According to new attendance data published today, 92 per cent of state schools were fully open as of last Thursday, down from 93 per cent the previous week. It means 8 per […]

Coronavirus: Nearly one in six secondaries not fully open, DfE data suggests

Around 1,500 schools have now been forced to partially close, with as many as one in six secondary schools not open to all pupils, new government figures show. According to the Department for Education’s latest school attendance survey data, 84 per cent of state-funded secondary schools were fully-open to all pupils as of last Thursday, […]

Partial closures ‘will continue until we have a vaccine’, says national schools commissioner

Schools having to fully and partially close and then reopen will “become a way of life” until a coronavirus vaccine is found, the national schools commissioner has said. Opening, reopening, closing, partially closing will continue until we have a vaccine, become a way of life Dominic Herrington issued the warning during an online conference for academy […]

Letter used by PM as evidence of school ‘safety’ warned of need for ‘prompt availability of testing’

A statement by the UK’s chief medical officers referenced by Boris Johnson as evidence that schools are safe warned that the “prompt availability of testing” was “key” to the safe return of pupils to schools. The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday that advice from government medical officers showed there was “an exceptionally small risk […]

Government doing ‘level best’ to get school pupils tested, claims Johnson

The prime minister dodged questions about a lack of Covid testing available for school pupils in the House of Commons, claiming the government is doing its “level best” to test every child with symptoms. Boris Johnson was grilled on problems with access to testing for school pupils by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Statistics released […]

Schools to stay open as Johnson announces tougher lockdown restrictions

Schools, colleges and universities “will stay open”, despite a ramping up of lockdown restrictions in England, Boris Johnson has said. Announcing a plethora of tougher measures including an enforced 10pm closing time for pubs and a plea for workers to once again work from home if they can, Johnson said the country had reached a […]

Proportion of schools not fully open due to Covid quadruples in a week

The proportion of schools reporting that they are not fully open because of suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 has quadrupled in a week. Attendance data from the Department for Education showed that 4 per cent of schools reported they were not fully open because of Covid as of last Thursday, up from 1 per […]

Starmer demands taskforce to close attainment gap

A national taskforce run by an independent body like the children’s commissioner should be set up to plan a national strategy to close the attainment gap, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader told the party’s “Connected” online conference this morning that the country needs “a national strategy with clear targets to close the […]