Thursday
Northern Ireland to make period products free in schools
Move comes after Scotland became first country in the world to make period products free for all in 2020
Why it can’t be ‘business as usual’ with school league tables
If the DfE really is determined to publish secondary school league tables this year after all the Covid disruption, then it needs to make sure that the data is handled with care, says Steve Rollett
Covid: Persistent absence doubled during the pandemic
‘Vulnerable’ pupils continue to bear the brunt of the impact of the pandemic, according to new FFT attendance figures
Wednesday
Zahawi sets out what school tech ‘should look like’
The DfE publishes a series of ‘technology standards’ so ‘leaders will know what the tech set-up should look like in their school’
Ken Muir: SQA rebrand would mean six months of work wasted
Author of long-awaited report on Scottish education reform talks up need for ‘radical changes to culture and governance’
How the government and the system failed schools during Covid
Sam Freedman reflects on how the pandemic laid bare the structural and systemic flaws at the heart of the education system – and created new ones, too
Tuesday
Why children are not dead birds and exams create ‘losers’
We recap some bold ideas and statements from Professor Yong Zhao during a session at the World Education Summit that offer food for thought for educators everywhere
Covid: Pupil absence more than triples in two weeks
Nearly 1 in 10 teachers were absent last week, DfE statistics reveal
National Tutoring Programme ‘failing pupils and taxpayers’
Labour criticises government over NTP and ‘lack of ambition’ in its education plans
Friday
Tories demand performance-related school funding
Scottish Conservatives also call for Curriculum for Excellence to be scrapped and parents to get a bigger role in running schools
1 in 5 secondary teachers report merged classes
Exclusive: Merged classes are being taught in halls and canteens as schools face ongoing disruption due to Covid absences
