Theme 1 news Covid DfE extends Covid school workforce fund until Easter Staff fund extended until April 8 Samantha Booth 4y Samantha Booth 4y Covid Covid pupil absences fall, but 320,000 still off Leaders still facing ‘major headache’ as almost one in ten staff remain absent Freddie Whittaker 4y Freddie Whittaker 4y Covid Remote admissions appeals here to stay as DfE seeks to make Covid changes permanent Hearings would also be allowed to continue with just two panelists if one withdraws Freddie Whittaker 4y Freddie Whittaker 4y Covid Ministers told to beef up waning pupil vaccination rates Calls come as new data shows poorer pupils are the least likely to be vaccinated James Carr 4y James Carr 4y Covid Long read ‘Epidemic of anxiety’: Special schools feel brunt of Omicron surge Special schools battle higher rates of staff and pupil absence James Carr 4y James Carr 4y Covid Exclusive Council tells heads to ‘self-manage’ Covid outbreaks Local authority tells schools to stop reporting Covid cases amid an ‘increase demand on public health services’ James Carr 4y James Carr 4y Academies, Covid MATs gain schools and record cash boost amid Covid Academies boasted record levels of spare cash and continued to expand amid the pandemic, Kreston’s annual benchmarking report shows Tom Belger 4y Tom Belger 4y Covid Record high of 1 in 25 pupils off with Covid as confirmed cases double A quarter of schools have more than 15 per cent of teachers off – nearly double the rate in… Freddie Whittaker 4y Freddie Whittaker 4y Covid DfE rejects 1 in 5 requests for school air-cleaning units 285 schools had bids for government-funded units refused because they ‘did not meet the eligibility criteria’ James Carr 4y James Carr 4y Newer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 18 Older Must Read Covid Exclusive DfE threatened with legal action over ‘unlawful’ Covid attendance rules The government is being threatened with legal action if it fails to update attendance guidance for vulnerable children and… James Carr 4y James Carr 4y Covid Academy trusts’ cash stash rises to £3bn despite pandemic pressures Academy trusts boosted their reserves and surpluses last year despite the upheaval of Covid, official figures show. New Department… Tom Belger 4y Tom Belger 4y