ISC Daily News Summary

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, has said schools should not have the threat of legal action hanging over them if they decide to move to remote learning for the remainder of term in response to rising local infection rates. By John Roberts, Tes.

The London borough of Greenwich has asked all schools to move to remote learning from Tuesday due to an increase in infection rates. By Branwen Jeffreys, BBC News. Another report on BBC News features comments from Sadiq Khan, London's mayor, who has called on the Government to ask all secondary schools and colleges in the capital to close early.

The Welsh Government has said coronavirus testing will be rolled out in schools and colleges from January. BBC News.

The Times looks at a reported rise in the number of families moving to independent schools from the state sector due to home learning frustrations. By Nicola Woolcock and Fariha Karim. The article quotes Will Phelan, principal of Stamford Endowed Schools, and Christopher King, chief executive of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools. It also references Magdalen College School, The Grammar School at Leeds and Royal Grammar School in Newcastle.

Schools Week suggests the traditional parents’ evening may have become a thing of the past due to the rise of virtual meetings. By Samantha Booth and Hélène Mulholland.

Millie Tulleth, an S6 pupil at a South Lanarkshire secondary school, writes in Tes about her experience dealing with the cancellation of the Higher and Advanced Higher exams.

Gillian Bowditch writes in The Times following the decision to scrap next year's Higher and Advanced Higher exams, saying: "A return to the structure and rhythm of the exam diet should have been an educational priority."

Oliver Blond, headmaster of Roedean School, has said its history syllabus was being decolonised "to challenge the predominantly western European narrative and to look beyond the limitations of Britain’s ‘island story’." By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

A new report, by researchers at UCL’s Institute for Education, questions the progress being made to ensure racial equality in teaching after it found almost half of all schools in England have no black or minority ethnic teachers. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

Analysis by Cambridge Assessment has discovered that taking a music qualification is linked with higher academic achievement overall. By Will Hazell, iNews.

Universities UK, the Higher Education Policy Institute, the NUS and University and College Union have all warned of the negative impact should Britain leave the EU without a deal. By Georgina Littlejohn, iNews.

Kevin Goggins, head of Skt. Josef’s International School in Denmark, writes in Tes offering five tips for making character education stick.