ISC Daily News Summary

Schools minister Nick Gibb has said schools could still face significant disruption this academic year as a result of COVID-19. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.

Schools Week reports vaccines for 12 to 15-year-olds will be administered in schools if they are approved by the chief medical officer. By Freddie Whittaker.

Mr Gibb has warned that headteachers who try to reintroduce COVID restrictions in schools unnecessarily will face intervention from commissioners. By Ewan Somerville, The Telegraph.

According to poll findings from Teacher Tapp, 40 per cent of headteachers are highly confident that they understand the current COVID rules compared with 57 per cent last year. By Amy Gibbons, Tes.

Addressing MPs on the Education Select Committee yesterday, Ian Bauckham, chair of Ofqual, said grading arrangements for 2022 will be announced next month. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week. Other key findings from the Education Select Committee are summarised in Schools Week. By Samantha Booth.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, has said a return to the grade distribution of 2019 would represent "the fairest approach for past, present and future students". By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

According to Tes, education lawyers have received few requests for legal advice on GCSE and A-level appeals this year. By Catherine Lough.

According to updated figures from UCAS, 272,500 students in the UK have accepted university places this year, up by seven per cent on last year. By Sean Coughlan, BBC News.

Katharine Roddy, a secondary teacher at Bolton School Boys' Division, writes in Tes outlining ways schools can empower boys to engage in lessons about gender equality.

Dame Mary Beard, a classics professor at Cambridge University, has suggested that there is 'snobbery' surrounding the merits of academic subjects, and has urged people to stop being "fixated" with Oxbridge. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

According to a report from the National Association of Head Teachers, 97 per cent of schools say they have received insufficient funding to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). By Hannah Richardson and Eleanor Lawrie, BBC News.

Secondary school students in England are set to learn about blood and organ donation for the first time as part of changes to the curriculum. By Zoe Tidman and Nadine White, The Independent.