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Coronavirus: PM expected to announce end of face mask rules in schools from 17 May
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General education
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According to The Telegraph, Boris Johnson is to announce that secondary school pupils will no longer be required to wear face masks in classrooms from 17 May. By Ben Riley-Smith and Camilla Turner.
The Telegraph reports some teachers are quitting the National Education Union after it wrote to the education secretary urging him to extend face mask rules in schools until 21 June. By Camilla Turner.
According to research from the Education Endowment Foundation, primary school pupils eligible for free school meals have fallen a month behind their classmates in maths as a result of coronavirus disruption. BBC News. Other key findings from the report have been summarised by Schools Week.
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Exams 2021: 'Teachers shouldn't use extra time to do tests, tests and more tests'
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Examinations
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Ian Bauckham, chair of Ofqual, has said that the deadline for grade submissions was pushed back to late June to allow for more teaching time, not "tests and tests and more tests". By Catherine Lough, Tes. The article quotes Vicky Bingham, headmistress of South Hampstead High School, and Shaun Fenton, head of Reigate Grammar School.
Speaking to Tes, Mr Bauckham acknowledged that teachers "need to know" of any "significant" changes to 2022 exams before the start of the next academic year. By Catherine Lough.
Rachael Booth, principal at Leeds Sixth Form College, writes in Tes arguing a switch to digital exams cannot happen "without significant investment from the Government for training, connectivity, digital resources and pilot schemes".
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DfE to extend wellbeing service for school leaders
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Mental health
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A mental health and wellbeing support service for school leaders is to be extended to another 160 schools, with an extra £62,000 in funding from the Department for Education (DfE). By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.
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Campaigners call for age verification for pornographic websites
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Child welfare
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Headteachers and children's groups have written a letter to the prime minister urging him to bring forward the implementation of age verification for porn websites, claiming the measure could help prevent attacks on women and girls. By Daniel Martin, The Mail. The signatories are led by Baroness Benjamin, the former Play School presenter, and include Dr Joseph Spence, master of Dulwich College.
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A conversation with Vanessa Ward, ISI's chief inspector
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Independent sector
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Tes features an interview with Vanessa Ward, who was appointed chief inspector of the Independent Schools' Inspectorate (ISI) in February this year. By Catherine Lough.
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Concerns over 'catastrophic' funding cut to arts subjects at universities
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Higher education
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Artists and musicians have accused the Government of neglecting the country's "cultural national health" by proposing a 50 per cent funding cut to arts subjects at universities in England. By Lanre Bakare and Richard Adams, The Guardian. An editorial piece in The Guardian argues the proposal sends "the wrong message to all the artists, cultural organisations and businesses that contribute such a huge amount to the social and economic life of this country".
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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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