schools | Schools Week

Liverpool council defies government reopening plans – vowing children won’t return until June 15 ‘at very earliest’

Liverpool City Council has defied government calls for pupils to return to classrooms from June 1, saying children will not go back to its schools until June 15 “at the very earliest”. Documents leaked to Schools Week show the local authority plans to follow-through with its threat to defy the government over concerns it will not […]

Coronavirus: Ministers accused of ‘abdicating responsibility’ over schools reopening plan

Ministers have been accused of “abdicating responsibility and handing it to heads” over their contentious plans for some pupils to return to school next month. School leaders have been told to prepare for the potential return of pupils in reception, year 1 and year 6 to their classrooms on June 1. The guidance reads less […]

Coronavirus: DfE admits home-learners may suffer once some pupils return to school

Reopening primary schools to more pupils means the quality of home education offered to those who aren’t allowed back in yet is likely to suffer, the government has admitted. New guidance on reopening schools, published tonight, states many schools have been able to offer “high-quality remote education opportunities or programmes over recent weeks”. The government […]

Coronavirus: Cabinet minister promises to ‘comfort’ unions as tensions grow over schools plan

A cabinet minister has said the government will work with unions to provide “as much comfort as we possibly can” over its plans to begin reopening schools next month. Tensions between the government and unions have been steadily growing since Boris Johnson announced it was the government’s aim for reception, year 1 and year 6 […]

Coronavirus: Unions urge government to ‘step back’ from June 1 school reopening plan

Unions representing hundreds of thousands of school teachers, leaders and support staff have called on the government to “step back” from its plan to have some pupils return to schools on June 1. A joint statement from unions in the Trades Union Congress with education members, including teachers’ unions the NEU and NASUWT, leadership union […]

Coronavirus: 8 things we learned from Gavin Williamson on plans to reopen schools

Gavin Williamson has defended plans to begin the phased reopening of schools on June 1, hitting out at the “scaremongering” of those raising concerns. Summoned by MPs to the House of Commons to face questions about the proposal today, Williamson said the plans are a “sensible and responsible” approach to getting more children back to […]

Coronavirus: Largest heads’ union says it wasn’t consulted over June 1 return plan

The country’s largest headteachers’ union was not consulted on the government’s proposal to allow certain year groups to return to school on June 1, its general secretary has revealed. Paul Whiteman, the leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, which mostly represents primary school leaders, told the Parliamentary education committee this morning that conversations […]

Coronavirus: Tests for pupils with symptoms, no PPE needed and classes of 15

Pupils eligible to return to school on June 1 will have “access” to coronavirus testing, the Department for Education has said. The department has finally published additional information for schools, more than 24 hours after Boris Johnson announced the government’s intention to have some primary pupils return to school as early as June 1. The […]

Coronavirus: Heads can refuse to reopen schools if they don’t think it’s safe, say leadership unions

Headteachers can refuse to reopen their schools to more pupils if they don’t believe they can do so safely, leadership unions have warned. The National Association of Head Teachers and the Association of School and College Leaders, which between them represent tens of thousands of senior and middle leaders, said the final decision on whether […]