According to Ofsted's annual report, "despite the best efforts and commitment of many thousands of parents, teachers, social workers and carers, the challenges of the pandemic were so great that nearly all children fell behind in their education". By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

Amanda Spielman, Ofsted's chief inspector of schools, said she feared that another period of school closures could lead to more children like Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who was killed last June, slipping under the radar. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

Ms Spielman has also warned there was a “disappointingly small” number of achievements for many pupils last year as they struggled with a “hokey-cokey education” during the pandemic. By James Carr, Schools Week.

Schools Week outlines eight key findings from the Ofsted annual report for the 2020-21 academic year. By Freddie Whittaker.

The Department for Education (DfE) has admitted it held a Christmas “gathering” last December, when London was under Tier 2 COVID rules. A DfE spokesperson said: "While this was work-related, looking back we accept it would have been better not to have gathered in this way at that particular time.” By Lamiat Sabin, The Independent.

A new report has found that children in the north have missed more schooling in lockdown and received less work per day compared with their peers elsewhere. BBC News.

Talks are reportedly underway to set up a new not-for-profit consortium of education charities to take over the running of the Government’s COVID catch-up National Tutoring Programme from Randstad, following reports that pupil enrolment is more than 90% below target. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

Scotland's national clinical director has said more schools and businesses will close in the lead up to Christmas as health experts "hit Omicron hard". BBC News.

In the latest ISC 'Spotlight On' blog, Lisa Bradshaw, head of science at Withington Girls’ School, explains how a peer-led partnership initiative is supporting younger pupils with STEM learning.

According to a new YouGov survey, 53 per cent of parents of school age children in the UK think that A-levels are too focused on exams. By Julian Owen, Independent Education Today.

According to a survey by the National Association of Head Teachers, 53 per cent of deputy heads and middle leaders do not aspire to headship, up from 40 per cent five years ago. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

A study published by Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales, has found that pupils are pressured regularly to send nude photos and around half of secondary pupils in Wales said they had experienced sexual harassment from fellow students. By Will Fyfe, BBC News.

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