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Daily News Summary
3 May 2022

Coronavirus: Nadhim Zahawi to encourage schools to use the NTP
Boris Johnson urged to lift the ban on new grammar schools
A closer look at the impact of changes to student loans
Parents are more likely to influence pupils' success in MFL than teachers, study suggests
‘Pushing girls to study physics isn’t gender equality’
Scottish parents are "right to be concerned" about shared headships, says education secretary

Coronavirus: Nadhim Zahawi to encourage schools to use the NTP

 

According to The Guardian, the education secretary will write to schools this week urging them to use the Government’s National Tutoring Programme (NTP) after it emerged that an estimated 40 per cent of schools are yet to offer any tutoring sessions through the NTP to support pupils catch-up learning loss caused by the pandemic. By Jessica Murray.

Ministers have confirmed plans to publish new tutoring “league tables” this autumn to highlight the schools that have not yet signed up to the NTP. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

James Bowen, head of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers, has called the Government's plan to publish data revealing each school's take-up of the NTP "deeply unfair". By Callum Mason, Tes.

According to The Times, universities will be fined if they fail to ensure students have face-to-face teaching following reports that some institutions have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of on-site teaching. By Nicola Woolcock.

In a letter published on the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union website, Conservative MP Michael Fabricant has apologised for suggesting teachers enjoyed a "quiet drink" at the end of the day in staff rooms during lockdown. The Telegraph.

 

Boris Johnson urged to lift the ban on new grammar schools

 

The prime minister has been urged to bring back grammar schools under a new campaign led by MP Jonathan Gullis. The campaigners argued that lifting the ban on new free schools being selective would allow grammar education to spread out of wealthy areas and “level up” education. By Charles Hymas, The Telegraph.

Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis writes for The Times suggesting that grammar schools have a "a huge role to play" in levelling up education in England and would "allow bright children to make the most of their talents, especially those that come from disadvantaged backgrounds".

 

A closer look at the impact of changes to student loans

 

The Guardian explores the potential implications of the Government’s proposed changes to the student loan system, amid concerns they could impact the supply of graduates in key sectors such as teaching and nursing. By Richard Adams.

 
The Guardian

Parents are more likely to influence pupils' success in MFL than teachers, study suggests

 

A study by the University of Cambridge has found that parents are twice as likely as teachers to influence pupils' success in modern foreign languages (MFL). By Dave Speck, Tes.

 
Tes

‘Pushing girls to study physics isn’t gender equality’

 

Journalist Melanie Phillips writes for The Times on the controversy surrounding comments made by Katharine Birbalsingh, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, that girls do not want to study physics because they are reluctant to do "hard maths".

 
The Times

Scottish parents are "right to be concerned" about shared headships, says education secretary

 

Shirley-Anne Somerville, Scotland’s education secretary, has said that parents “are right to be concerned” about the trend of shared headships in which a single headteacher is employed to lead up to nine schools. By Mark McLaughlin, The Times.

 
The Times

 

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