ISC Daily News Summary

The leaders of eight education unions have written a joint letter to education secretary Gavin Williamson urging the Government to publish data on the number of COVID-19 variant cases identified in schools and colleges in England. By Richard Adams, The Guardian. Public Health England has said it will not release data on the spread of the Indian variant in schools until "the collection process and data is robust and quality assured". By Dave Speck, Tes.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, has said it would seem "a bit rich" for ministers to pledge to boost teacher numbers following this year's pay freeze. By Amy Gibbons, Tes.

New figures suggest pupils missed 33 million days of in-person education because of COVID during the autumn term last year. By Tom Belger, Schools Week.

Writing in Tes, Melvyn Roffe, principal at George Watson's College, argues the pandemic has revealed the need for change within Scotland's education system.

Union leaders have warned of the impact of this year's assessment system on teachers and students. By Catherine Lough, Tes.

Ofqual has published provisional statistics on GCSE and A-level entries in England for 2021, which show the number of students taking A-level English literature continues to decline while entries for geography have soared. By Will Hazell, iNews. Key trends from the provisional entry data have been summarised by Schools Week. By Samantha Booth.

According to a survey by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, almost 63 per cent of parents with children studying for national qualifications feel ill-informed about how qualifications will be awarded this year. By Emma Seith, Tes.

The Department for Education has confirmed that Amanda Spielman will be given a two-year extension to her role as Ofsted's chief inspector. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

The Office for Statistics Regulation has said that the UK's Pisa reports "were not sufficiently transparent about the limitations of the data and the potential sources of bias". By Claudia Civinini, Tes.

Professor Robert Winston from Imperial College has said there is "no good statistical evidence" to show that homework produces better academic results for pupils, adding "there's a whole range of things they can be doing at home which contributes to their learning". By Max Stephens, The Telegraph.

According to a national survey conducted by the Government, schools in England face a repair bill of more than £11 billion, nearly double some previous estimates. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

Andrew Copeman, assistant head of Year 12 and English teacher at Latymer Upper School, writes in Tes about the value of embracing "door-handle" lesson planning.