ISC Daily News Summary

Dame Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's chief regulator, has raised concerns there could be a lack of exam markers next year as teachers may be 'yearning for a rest' over the summer. By Catherine Lough, Tes.

Robbie Coleman, director of the secretariat of the National Tutoring Programme, writes in Tes in response to criticisms of the catch-up initiative.

Tes reports on the reaction among some teachers to the Government's decision to allow schools to schedule an inset day for Friday 18 December. By Amy Gibbons.

Anne Longfield, the children's commissioner for England, has called on the Government to place investment in supporting vulnerable children and families at the heart of any COVID-19 recovery package, arguing: "Children fared disproportionately badly if they were living in poverty before." By Patrick Butler, The Guardian.

According to report findings from the Social Market Foundation, almost two million children in the UK have experienced food insecurity during the pandemic. By Arjun Neil Alim, The Independent.

Survey findings from Quizlet, a digital learning platform, suggest 86 per cent of university students feel they should get a full or partial tuition fee refund this year, due to the impact of the pandemic. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.

According to a survey by the Office for National Statistics, 57 per cent of university students said their mental health and wellbeing had deteriorated since the start of the autumn term. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.

Tes reports MSPs have voted to demand the recruitment of more teachers to help schools manage the challenges of COVID-19.

Emma Reed writes in The Telegraph about the Independent Schools Examination Board's Common Pre-Test, an online adaptive test which covers maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

Historian Sir Tom Devine has described a resource package designed by the government quango Education Scotland as "a simplistic piece of arrant propaganda", and has urged teachers not to deliver it to their pupils. By Daniel Sanderson, The Telegraph.

Research findings which highlight a link between collisions in rugby and early onset dementia have led to calls for the sport to be replaced with touch or tag rugby in schools. By Matthew Weaver, The Guardian.