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Daily News Summary
23 July 2021

Coronavirus: Daily COVID testing 'a safe alternative' to isolation for school contacts
Exam boards still set to make final grade checks ahead of results day
"The future of our children's health and wellbeing hangs in the balance"
Senior teacher pay levels to be 8% lower in real terms than 14 years ago after pay freeze
Survey findings reveal extent of sexual harassment and abuse suffered by teachers
DfE revises up 2030 pupil projections, but numbers still expected to shrink
Ministers consider proposals to cap numbers studying 'low-value' degrees

Coronavirus: Daily COVID testing 'a safe alternative' to isolation for school contacts

 

According to a study by Oxford researchers, daily contact testing of school pupils is a safe alternative to home isolation, and could reduce school absences by up to 39 per cent. BBC News. An editorial piece in The Telegraph responds to the study findings, arguing: "A country in which the vulnerable are double-vaccinated and the rest of the adult population is fast catching up should not still be using isolation as a blunt lockdown tool at all."

Oak National Academy, a virtual school set up during the pandemic, is to remain open for at least two more terms amid a rise in the number of pupils self-isolating. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.

The University and College Union has called for all students to be fully vaccinated by September, as part of efforts to prevent universities from being "incubators for COVID-19 all over again". By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

 

Exam boards still set to make final grade checks ahead of results day

 

Schools minister Nick Gibb has outlined plans for grading reviews and the provisional process for next year's GCSEs and A-levels, adding that evidence checking for this year's grades "is almost complete". By Amy Gibbons, Tes.

 
Tes

"The future of our children's health and wellbeing hangs in the balance"

 

A number of UK sports stars are urging schools to open up their playing fields and sports facilities over the summer as part of efforts to tackle Britain's obesity epidemic. By Laura Donnelly, The Telegraph. A commentary piece written by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Iron Man John McAvoy can be found below the article.

 
The Telegraph

Senior teacher pay levels to be 8% lower in real terms than 14 years ago after pay freeze

 

New analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that teacher pay levels for experienced staff will be eight per cent lower in real terms since 2007, after the Government announced a pay freeze in England. By Joe Middleton, The Independent.

 
The Independent

Survey findings reveal extent of sexual harassment and abuse suffered by teachers

 

According to a new Tes survey, one in four female secondary teachers has been subjected to sexual abuse or harassment by a pupil in the past year. By Claudia Civinini.

 
Tes

DfE revises up 2030 pupil projections, but numbers still expected to shrink

 

The Department for Education (DfE) has revised up its pupil number predictions for 2030, but the state school population is still expected to shrink by 398,000, or 5.1 per cent. By James Carr, Schools Week.

 
Schools Week

Ministers consider proposals to cap numbers studying 'low-value' degrees

 

The DfE has reportedly drawn up proposals for controls on student numbers and minimum university entry requirements to curb costs and channel students towards courses deemed more valuable by the Government. By Will Hazell, iNews.

 
iNews

 

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