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Coronavirus: Almost a quarter of pupils absent from school
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General education
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New attendance figures show 1.7 million pupils were out of school last week for COVID-related reasons, up from 1.5 million the week before. By Hannah Richardson and Jeanette Long, BBC News.
Union leaders have warned that schools are still being expected to carry out COVID contact tracing, despite updated guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) stating that the NHS would take over this week. By John Roberts, Tes.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said there is an "urgent need to catch up on non-COVID-19 school immunisations", following a drop in the take-up of routine jabs during the pandemic. By Chris Smyth, The Times.
James Bowen, director of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers, writes in Tes about the importance of good ventilation in minimising the spread of COVID, adding: "The Government could and should play a far more active role in supporting schools to implement the safety measures it is recommending."
Sir Steve Lancashire, the outgoing leader of the country's biggest primary-only multi-academy chain, has called for schools to be able to decide how to lead the COVID education recovery effort, saying they have been "swamped" by bureaucracy and centralised management from the DfE. By John Roberts, Tes.
Marianne Levy writes in iNews reflecting on the impact COVID disruption has had on end of term events, stating: "Ending restrictions might be good for the economy, but childhood is not a commodity one can buy back."
New figures show more than 12,000 children in the UK have either been orphaned or lost a caregiver due to the pandemic. By Joe Pinkstone, The Telegraph.
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Scrap Sats to level up opportunities for disadvantaged children, Government urged
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Social mobility
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A new report from the Social Mobility Commission outlines a series of proposals for how schools can tackle the attainment gap, which include replacing Sats with "an externally moderated digital portfolio of work". By Dave Speck, Tes.
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Independent school to launch pioneering sleep programme
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Independent sector
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Canford School has developed a new sleep programme intended to support pupils' mental, physical and emotional health, whilst also boosting their productivity and energy levels. By Julian Owen, IE Today. The article quotes Melissa Clinton, joint head of wellbeing at the school.
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University union condemns "unconscionable" cut to arts funding
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Higher education
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The Office for Students has confirmed it will reduce funding given to some university courses in the fields of music, performing arts and media - a cut described by the University and College Union as 'one of the biggest attacks on arts and entertainment in living memory'. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.
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'I hope that one day my job will be taken by a local'
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International education
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Andy Bayfield, a teaching and learning leader at an international school in Malaysia, writes in Tes suggesting "the goals of international teachers should be to work with local educators to develop them, grow them and eventually become replaced by them".
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The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.
Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.
Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.
Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.
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