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16 April 2026

Tag: schools reopening

Leicester’s Covid-19 response thwarted by poor data

Leicester council’s education director has said they have still do not have a breakdown by age of the children who have been infected with covid-19. The admission comes despite the city becoming the first local lockdown earlier this week amid rising case numbers, and highlights again how regional responses to outbreaks are being hindered by […]

Questions over league tables, but no Ofsted until January

Schools are none-the-wiser about whether league tables will return next year as the government attempts a return to “business as usual” – but proper Ofsted inspections won’t resume until January. Although the government’s guidance on school reopening in September confirmed the suspension of league tables for the 2019-20 academic year, it did not do so […]

Heads must issue absence fines so poor don’t ‘suffer’, claims Williamson

Pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds will suffer if the government does not enforce mandatory attendance in schools, the education secretary has claimed. Responding to a question from Schools Week at the Downing Street press briefing on Thursday, Gavin Williamson said if the government did not have an expectation of “every child to be in […]

DfE confirms September back-to-school plans

Limits on attendance will be lifted from September, and schools will be expected to deliver their “full curriculum”, the government has confirmed. Routine Ofsted visits will also not resume until 2021 under plans for the full reopening of schools set out by Gavin Williamson today. The Department for Education has also provided new guidance for […]

Dropping GCSEs only for ‘exceptional circumstances’, leaked DfE guidance states

School leaders will be told to only allow GCSE students to drop a subject in “exceptional circumstances” next year, according to draft guidance on the reopening of schools. Leaked details of the proposals were first revealed yesterday by HuffPost UK, which reported that the guidance set out how “some pupils may have to drop some […]

Three in four secondary schools reopen to more pupils

Almost three in four secondary schools began face-to-face support for year 10 and 12 pupils last week, while almost nine in ten primary schools had reopened more widely. The latest attendance data from the Department for Education shows 89 per cent of schools normally open to reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils had reopened […]

‘Don’t go back’ advice for shielders will be updated next week

School staff who are shielding because they are clinically extremely vulnerable are still being advised not to go to work – but new guidance on whether they should return to the classroom is due next week. The government recently announced a relaxation of its shielding guidance, stating that from August 1, those who cannot work […]

Revealed: How whole year-group bubbles could work

Top academy bosses have suggested “bubbles” of full year groups may be the only way to get all secondary pupils back in the classroom next year – aligning with government plans being formulated. One trust is exploring cordoning off sections of schools for each year-group bubble in a bid to reduce the risk of transmission […]