schools | Schools Week

Councils in deficit told to find SEND savings in exchange for £100m bailouts

Five councils have been told to cut special needs and disabilities (SEND) spending and reform services in exchange for government bailouts totalling almost £100 million to fill black holes in their budgets. The Department for Education has reached deals with five local authorities which have some of the largest dedicated school grants deficits in England. […]

7 staff roles, 2-hour training and DHSC sign-off on press: Schools given mass-testing instructions

Schools will have to train staff in up to seven different roles and get government sign-off on dealings with the press under plans for a mass Covid testing regime due to be launched next year. The Department for Education announced today that rapid-result lateral flow tests would be sent to all secondary schools and colleges […]

Renewed calls for mandatory sprinklers after schools destroyed

Fire chiefs are again calling for sprinklers to be made mandatory for new and refurbished schools after two devastating fires over the weekend. Two schools in Derbyshire were left severely damaged from the blazes, with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service saying neither had sprinklers fitted. The pupils are now being educated remotely while the council […]

Facebook targets teachers urging them to ‘request help” for any school supplies

Facebook has urged teachers to use its social media platform to request help if they need school supplies. The social media giant told Schools Week that this was part of a one-week pilot campaign in the US, UK and Canada to reach teachers who might need support. But teachers said the post, which appeared at […]

Staff and pupils recommended to layer up as schools work to keep classrooms ventilated

Staff and pupils are being told to layer up as schools struggle to keep classrooms both ventilated for covid safety and warm during dropping temperatures. Unions are urgently seeking updated information on how schools should manage the winter period with windows and doors open, with heads predicting heating costs could double. The Health and Safety […]

Secondary schools swell to accommodate baby bulge as pressure on primaries fades

The number of pupils in England’s secondary schools has grown for the fifth year in a row, as a baby bulge seen in the early-2000s continues to make its way from primary. New data published by the government today shows the number of secondary school pupils rose to 3.41 million in January, up 81,300 on […]

Pressure mounts on ministers as study shows fifth of pupils do no schoolwork at home

Children not in school during the lockdown have been spending an average of 2.5 hours a day doing schoolwork, new research suggests. According to the UCL Institute of Education, which conducted the study, the figure is around half that suggested by previous research, “implying that learning losses are much greater than previously thought”. One fifth […]

Schools told they can’t claim back costs of preventative cleaning

The government’s exceptional costs reimbursement scheme must be extended to cover preventative measures as school reopen in the coronavirus outbreak, headteachers’ unions have said. Leaders of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) told Schools Week the scope of the scheme drawn up by the Department […]

Pressure on government grows for September schools plan

The government is under increasing pressure to produce a proper coronavirus plan for schools, particularly the renewed pledge to get all pupils back in school by September. The fall-out follows the government dropping its “ambition” this week to get all primary pupils back to school before the summer. Critics from across the political spectrum have […]