Sir David King, chair of the Independent Sage Group, has said the Government should roll out the vaccination programme for secondary school students "quickly", and has called on ministers to rethink the policy on removing masks in schools "in light of the current figures". Tes.

Richard Russell, headmaster of Colfe's School, writes to The Times in support of the vaccination of children above the age of 12, saying "it would guarantee educational continuity in the next academic year".

Molly Kingsley, co-founder of the UsforThem group, writes in The Telegraph cautioning against proposals to roll out COVID vaccines to children, saying: "We owe it to them to ask whether such a move is justified and to be open about the other policy options available."

Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at Edinburgh University and a member of Nicola Sturgeon's COVID-19 advisory group, has said children will need to be vaccinated "if we want schools to continue without disruption in the autumn". By David McCann, The Times.

School leaders and education unions have condemned the Government's education recovery package for not including enough support for pupil wellbeing. By Emma Yeomans, The Times.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has claimed that "too many schools" have restricted what children can do during their break times. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

Louise Hayward, professor of educational assessment and innovation at the University of Glasgow and chairwoman of the Independent Assessment Commission, writes in The Times arguing the pandemic offers an opportunity to rethink England's education system.

According to The Guardian, dozens of secondary schools in England have reintroduced mask requirements in the classroom, amid a rise in local COVID cases. By Maya Wolfe-Robinson.

iNews reports plans to use data analysis tools to compare pupils' grades with the past performance of schools have been met with backlash in Scotland. By Chris Green.

Speaking in a House of Lords debate yesterday, Lord Lingfield highlighted the proportion of independent schools with a school orchestra compared with state schools, and asked if the Government would ensure that funding for music hubs "is spent more effectively to allow more young people to play classical music together". In response, Baroness Berridge said: "The forthcoming national music plan, with its one-year extension to the music hubs, will take the matters that the noble Lord outlined into account."

Following on from Lord Lingfield's question, Lord Lexden, president of the Independent Schools Association, asked the Government if it had noted that "before the pandemic, state and independent schools were working together in over 1,200 partnership schemes involving either music or drama". In response, Baroness Berridge acknowledged this partnership work and explained that she would be holding a round table "to see how the existing partnerships could be strengthened and whether we could see an expansion of that activity".

Catherine Milner, chief curator for Messums art gallery, writes in The Telegraph calling for more consideration to be given to art and design in schools, arguing the subject "is good for both GDP and our mental health".

Ofsted has published a research review identifying Brexit 'insecurity' and "underdeveloped" continuing professional development as challenges schools face when trying to deliver a high-quality languages curriculum. By James Carr, Schools Week.

According to researchers at the University of Oxford, students who drop mathematics at the age of 16 have lower levels of a brain chemical that is critical for brain and cognitive development, compared with those who continue studying the subject. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

Former prime minister Tony Blair has defended his target of sending 50 per cent of young people to university, and has called on the Government to go further by opening up more institutions in red wall areas. By Nicola Woolcock, Rachel Sylvester and Emma Yeomans, The Times. The proposal forms part of an "Education 2030 Plan", which Lord Adonis, a former education minister, elaborates on in a separate piece for The Times.

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