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Daily News Summary
12 May 2023

Pupils left 'in tears' over SATs reading paper
Rising number of teachers view online exams as fairer than traditional assessments, survey suggests
More pupils likely to be left in secondary school “cold spots” as falling rolls drive closures
Doctors should help ‘risk-averse’ parents send children back to school, says inspectorate
Schools offering £10k bonuses to teachers in recruitment drive
Cambridge students may graduate late due to exam-marking boycott

Pupils left 'in tears' over SATs reading paper

 

Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), has expressed concern after hundreds of complaints were made online about a SATs reading paper. Parents and teachers of Year 6 pupils said the test, held this week, was so difficult it left some children in tears. By Hazel Shearing, BBC News.

 
BBC

Rising number of teachers view online exams as fairer than traditional assessments, survey suggests

 

New data from Ofqual has found an increasing number of teachers believe online exams would be fairer than traditional pen-and-paper assessments. Last year, figures indicated that the proportion of teachers who thought traditional exams were fairer was almost double that of those favouring online exams, but according to the latest statistics, this gap has almost closed. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

BBC News offers a guide to the 2023 GCSEs, BTECs and National 5s. By Vanessa Clarke.

 

More pupils likely to be left in secondary school “cold spots” as falling rolls drive closures

 

Analysis by SchoolDash suggests tens of thousands of pupils live at least 10 kilometres from their nearest state secondary school and more are likely to be left in "cold spots" amid school closures driven by falling rolls. The research, which excluded grammar and independent schools, found 20,198 pupils in 143 neighbourhoods of England had no non-selective mainstream secondary school within 10 kilometres of their home. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

 
Schools Week

Doctors should help ‘risk-averse’ parents send children back to school, says inspectorate

 

Ofsted has told the Commons Education Select Committee’s inquiry into persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils that it would like to see GPs and pharmacies helping schools tackle an “overly risk-averse approach” from parents “keeping children out of school”, amid the problem of persistently-high absence rates. By Amy Walker, Schools Week.

 
Schools Week

Schools offering £10k bonuses to teachers in recruitment drive

 

According to figures from recruitment website Indeed, for Schools Week, education vacancies offering sign-up bonuses increased from 0.1 per cent in April 2021 to one per cent this month. Schools are also reportedly offering “golden hello” payments of up to £10,000 to entice teachers in shortage subjects – but only if they complete up to three years in the position. By Amy Walker.

 
Schools Week

Cambridge students may graduate late due to exam-marking boycott

 

A marking boycott by academics at the University of Cambridge could delay graduations for students who started their degrees during the pandemic. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

Students in their final year at Edinburgh University have also learned that some dissertations might not be marked before graduations because of industrial action by lecturers. By Louisa Clarence-Smith and Benedict Smith, The Telegraph.

 

 

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