ISC Daily News Summary

Under new contingency measures outlined by Ofqual and the Department for Education, pupils face taking four sets of assessments throughout the academic year in the event that end-of-year exams cannot go ahead due to the pandemic. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

According to BBC News, the Government has confirmed that teenagers in England will be given advance warning of some exam content next year because of disruption caused by the pandemic. By Hazel Shearing.

An analysis of COVID infections and school absences by FFT Education Datalab suggests that between 38,000 and 49,000 pupils in year 5 and 6 could have been in school with an asymptomatic COVID infection in the week ending 15 October. By Matilda Martin and John Roberts, Tes.

Tes has reported that schools in at least a quarter of council areas in England have been advised to take extra steps to stop the spread of COVID. By John Roberts and Catherine Lough.

Pupils at the Royal Hospital School, in Suffolk, have created a "sea of souls" art installation to signify the number of lives lost at sea during World War One and Two. The installation involves 1,548 sails made by pupils to "emulate the white rows of the cemeteries commemorating the fallen". BBC News.

Almost three in four ‘outstanding’ schools previously exempt from Ofsted inspections have been downgraded in the first round of published reports. Twenty-three reports relating to ‘outstanding’ schools were published yesterday, and of those, seventeen lost their ‘outstanding’ status. By James Carr, Schools Week.

According to a new report by the EDSK think tank, national primary school tests including Sats and the Reception Baseline Assessment should be scrapped because they do not produce "fair or accurate judgements on schools or pupils". By John Roberts, Tes.

A Schools Week investigation has revealed that the Conservative Party's pledge to “fund enriching activities for all pupils” through a new arts premium has been scrapped. By Freddie Whittaker.