ISC Daily News Summary

According to Schools Week, some headteachers are planning to set up separate isolation rooms so pupils with COVID symptoms can take their exams, amid concerns that “ambiguous” guidance is forcing schools to find their own solutions for this year’s exams. By James Carr.

The National Association of Exam Officers has warned that schools are becoming "increasingly desperate" over COVID-related exam invigilator shortages, and are training staff to step in and oversee next month's assessments. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

New figures published by Ofqual show there was a sharp increase in the number of appeals against GCSE and A-level results in 2021 after students were allowed to challenge the academic judgement involved in teacher assessed grades. By John Roberts, Tes.

Ministers' plans to overhaul the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) will see COVID catch-up funding go directly to schools and nearly 50,000 new tutors and school staff trained under a new £18 million contract, according to Schools Week. By Samantha Booth.

The Department for Education (DfE) has raised its recruitment targets for trainee teachers, saying it expects a post-COVID exodus of existing staff. The DfE has estimated that 32,600 people will need to start post-graduate initial teacher training courses in the next academic year to meet schools’ needs the following year. By Tom Belger, Schools Week.

In the latest ISC blog, Guy Ayling, headmaster and principal of the Mount Kelly Foundation, explains how a girls' football programme is helping to level the playing field and provide more opportunities for girls to participate in the sport. Mr Ayling said: "In short, there are loads of girls who want to play football, but there isn’t always somewhere for them to go."

Nadhim Zahawi has said the new natural history GCSE, which will be introduced by September 2025, will educate “the next generation of David Attenboroughs”. The education secretary was speaking at an event at the Natural History Museum on Thursday to launch the new subject as part of the Government’s sustainability and climate change strategy. By Luke O'Reilly, The Independent.

According to a poll by Teacher Tapp, nearly half of primary school headteachers are considering taking on fewer early career teachers because of issues with flagship reforms that mean new mentors are working at weekends to complete extra training. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

Universities minister Michelle Donelan has called the proposal put forward by the Tony Blair Institute for 70 per cent of school leavers to go onto higher education “beyond misguided”, saying "university is not the only route and it’s not always the right route, depending on where you want to get and the type of job that you want to go into". By Catherine Lough, The Independent.