ISC Daily News Summary

An article in The Telegraph reports pupils could be made to sit early benchmarking tests, in case they are unable to sit exams in June or July due to illness or self-isolation. By Camilla Turner.

The Education Policy Institute has recommended the implementation of externally set assessment tests next spring as a back-up in case GCSE and A-level exams are cancelled. By Andrew Woodcock, The Independent.

BBC News reports a teaching union in Wales has called for urgent clarity over alternative arrangements for next year's GCSEs and A-levels. By Teleri Glyn Jones.

According to a survey by Teacher Tapp, just 39 per cent of teachers support the call to close schools during the November lockdown. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of Ofsted, has warned a spread of "misinformation" about coronavirus is prompting some parents to educate their children at home. By Will Hazell, iNews.

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, teachers in England are no more likely to catch coronavirus than other professionals working outside of the home. By Ben Quinn and Pamela Duncan, The Guardian.

An article in The Telegraph reports the Association for Physical Education and the Youth Sports Trust have been inundated with enquiries from schools seeking help interpreting government guidance on the delivery of school sport during lockdown. By Ben Rumsby and Matt Law.

Anne Longfield, the children's commissioner for England, writes in The Telegraph calling on the Government to "draw up new guidelines, quickly, that enable sport outside school to continue".

The Telegraph reports on concerns that some independent schools are continuing to run sport fixtures while municipal fields remain closed during lockdown. By Tom Morgan.

An article in The Times reports hundreds of thousands of pupils in Scotland are due to break up from school less than 72 hours before Christmas Day, prompting concerns they could spread the virus by travelling and mixing with older generations. By Helen Puttick.

The Sunday Times reports the Government is to provide a £170 million funding package to local authorities to help provide food for vulnerable children during the school holidays. By Caroline Wheeler and Sian Griffiths.

Footballer and campaigner Marcus Rashford has said he 'very much welcomes the steps that have been taken to combat child food poverty in the UK'. By Hannah Richardson, BBC News.

An article in The Telegraph reports on the reaction among Conservative MPs to the decision. By Christopher Hope and Amy Jones.

According to The Times, UCAS is expected to publish two options for university admissions reform, one of which proposes students should not apply for places until they have received their A-level results. By Nicola Woolcock.

According to the Peace Pledge Union, white poppy sales in schools have risen from 59 to 280 this year. Symon Hill, of the PPU, has suggested the Black Lives Matter movement has 'clearly got people talking about the good and bad bits of history, and what it means to remember the past'. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.