ISC Daily News Summary

According to a report by the Education Policy Institute, £13.5 billion is needed over the next three years to help pupils catch up on their learning. BBC News. The think tank has also said that pupils should be able to repeat a year of education in cases of extreme learning loss. By Will Hazell, iNews.

Janina Stromfield, curriculum leader of science at Sackville School, writes in Tes arguing the catch-up narrative "fails to take into account those children who made good progress with their studies despite the disruption".

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, has said that extending mask wearing rules in schools until 21 June "would keep staff and students safe and avoid more children losing out on face-to-face education because of virus outbreaks". By Will Hazell, iNews.

Schools Week reports some schools will continue to require face masks in classrooms and communal areas after 17 May, amid concerns about localised outbreaks of the virus. By Freddie Whittaker.

New findings from Public Health England show 48 COVID "incidents" were reported by education settings in the week to 9 May, up from 23 the week before. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

According to a report by UCAS, the efforts of experts like Professor Chris Whitty during the pandemic are inspiring more sixth formers to apply to medicine and nursing courses this autumn. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

The Scottish Government's education recovery group is reportedly prioritising "wellbeing and play" over reading and maths catch-up sessions this summer. By Helen Puttick, The Times.

Ofqual has confirmed that GCSE and A-level exams sat in the autumn will cover a reduced number of topics in some subjects. By Catherine Lough, Tes.

An anonymous teacher writes in Tes outlining their suggestions for how the assessment system in Scotland could be improved.

The Russell Group of universities has said it is opposed to delaying the start of university terms as part of a proposal to switch to post-qualification applications. Meanwhile, Ofqual has warned that if A-level results had to be published earlier than usual, this could introduce "delivery risks that are simply too great and would be unacceptable". By Nicola Woolcock, The Times. The article quotes Olivera Raraty, head of Malvern St James Girls' School.

New research published by the Sutton Trust has found that almost half of university students flagged as "disadvantaged" are not from low-income families. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

According to Schools Week, Amanda Spielman is expected to receive a two-year extension to her role as Ofsted's chief inspector. By James Carr.

Film-maker Steve McQueen has said that racism persists in the education system today, though the life chances of black pupils have improved with the help of those who exposed the scandal of schools for the "educationally subnormal" in the 1960s and 70s. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

According to a report by Ofsted, some children with special educational needs and disabilities have waited up to five years for their education, health and care (EHC) plans to be approved by local councils. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

Imperial College London has devised a computer program to analyse the backgrounds of authors on university reading lists to decipher whether a course's syllabus could be broadened. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.