ISC Daily News Summary

Jonathan Slater, who was permanent secretary at the Department for Education (DfE) from May 2016 to August 2020, has claimed that the Government's response to the COVID crisis in schools was undermined by a "huge disconnect between conversations in Whitehall and the reality on the ground". By John Roberts, Tes.

The DfE has released documents assessing the impact of reopening schools during the pandemic on different groups of staff, following legal action by the NASUWT teaching union. By Callum Mason, Tes.

According to new figures from the Office for National Statistics, long COVID rates among teachers and other education staff are now the joint highest of any listed occupational group. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

Tes reports that planned strike action from teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) at 23 independent schools has been suspended this week, after the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) and the NEU agreed to hold collective conciliation talks mediated by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. By Callum Mason.

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP, has called for a new GCSE in natural history to engage young people in conservation and help reverse the decline in the UK's biodiversity. By Will Hazell, iNews.

A leading article in The Times raises concerns over research findings that suggest large numbers of girls lose interest in sport once they leave primary school, stating: "It ought not to be like this. In an era when women’s football, rugby and cricket are flourishing as never before in this country, educators and parents have plenty of role models to point girls to."

Andy Mellor, the strategic lead for The Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools at Leeds Beckett University, writes for Tes arguing that schools can play a key role in preventing pupils from reaching crisis point with their mental health.