ISC Daily News Summary

According to the NHS, more than 80,000 young people aged 12 to 15-years-old have booked an appointment for a COVID vaccine online. Maggie Throup, the vaccines minister, called it “fantastic progress”. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.

A survey by Oxford University Press, has found that limited digital skills are nearly as great a barrier to education following the pandemic as access to technology. By James Higgins, Independent Education Today.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a further £1.8 billion in funding for catch-up and tutoring classes in England. The announcement means that the Government has now committed almost £5 billion to education recovery programmes. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

BBC News has reported that an extra £4.7 billion has been pledged for schools in England by 2024-2025, in addition to a cash increase of £1,500 for every child. This means that funding per pupil in English schools will be restored to 2010 levels over the next three years. By Hannah Richardson.

Writing for The Telegraph, the education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has called the education recovery funding outlined in this week's Budget a "landmark investment in skills, schools and families".

Robert Halfon, the chairman of the Education Select Committee, welcomed the education funding announcements, saying “the most encouraging part of yesterday’s budget was its heart - huge investment to build the skills and apprenticeship nation”. The Times.

School leaders have warned that the chancellor's COVID education recovery funding is not enough to remedy inequality brought about by the pandemic. By Amy Gibbons, Tes.

Sir Kevan Collins, the former education recovery commissioner, has written for The Times arguing that the funding allocated to schools "falls far short of the amount needed” for education recovery.

Tes takes a closer look at what the Budget means for schools. By Amy Gibbons.

In the latest ISC blog, Andrea Rutterford, principal of Latymer Prep School, and Yuvraj Nirwal, director of Teaching & Learning at Latymer Upper School, outline how both schools are celebrating the contributions black people have made to society – not just during Black History Month, but across the whole year.

According to figures from UCAS, the number of 18-year-olds from the poorest backgrounds applying to Oxford and Cambridge and competitive courses like medicine has increased by 8 per cent since last year. The findings come following reports that the Department for Education wants the cap on medical and dental students to “return to pre-pandemic levels”. By Will Hazell, iNews.

The Scottish Government has announced it will be reforming the system of school assessments instead of scrapping traditional exams altogether. Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told MSPs that "the time is right to signal that the Scottish Government supports reform of national qualifications and assessment". BBC News.