ISC Daily News Summary

The National Association of Head Teachers has called on the Government to "remove the burden of running test and trace in schools", after it found that school leaders have spent an average of 44 extra hours running the scheme since September. By Will Hazell, iNews.

According to The Telegraph, Whitehall officials have agreed that masks should continue to be worn in schools in areas worst affected by the Indian variant of COVID-19. By Camilla Turner.

Former Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has said proposals to shorten the summer holidays to help pupils catch up are "long overdue". By Will Hazell, iNews.

Oak National Academy has created new online resources for schools planning to host catch-up lessons over the summer. By John Roberts, Tes.

An Ofqual review has concluded that teachers are prone to "slight bias" in favour of girls and against boys when carrying out teacher assessments. By Will Hazell, iNews. The regulator also stated that bias against disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disabilities was a "common finding". By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

According to other findings from Ofqual, last year, 31 per cent of teachers felt "pressurised in relation to their judgements", and the threat of senior staff lowering centre-assessed grades was "strongly felt and not popular". By Amy Gibbons, Tes. A separate Tes article explores the 'diverse' ways in which schools calculated GCSE and A-level grades in 2020. By Catherine Lough.

A number of Scottish boarding schools are reporting a surge in interest from parents wanting their children to be educated outside large English cities. By Daniel Sanderson, The Telegraph. The article mentions Gordonstoun, and quotes John Edward, director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, Dorothy MacGinty, headteacher at Kilgraston School, and Jonathan Hewat, the registrar at Lomond School.

In the ISC's latest 'Spotlight On' blog, Remco Weeda, director of marketing and admissions and houseparent at Scarborough College, explains how the school has been using its minibuses to support the vaccination effort.

William Hague writes in The Times calling on the Government to prioritise education reform as part of its levelling-up agenda.