Schools are Struggling with Resources Amid Teacher Strike

Hundreds of thousands of members of the National Education Union will walk out over seven days in February and March to escalate their pay row. As many as 23,400 schools could be affected by the decision. There are no guarantees that in-person learning will go ahead during the days teachers go on strike. During this…

A-Level students saw the biggest drop in top grades on record

A-Level results day is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences in a student’s life – and it’s finally here. This year’s A-Level students saw the biggest drop in top grades on record. Around 600,000 fewer A and A* grades have been awarded this year as the Government tries to calm down on record grade inflation….

What do kids like and dislike about school?- Why it matters

  A recent study investigated potential links between students and how their schools influence the likelihood of them staying in school or leaving prematurely: teacher support, connectedness to school, and the use of detentions, suspensions and expulsions were all found to be relevant. The central question was “how can the school system improve schooling from…

Teachers Criticise New Remote Learning Government Guidelines

The recent updates to the government’s guidelines regarding remote learning have been branded as “unrealistic” and “a distraction” by heads and teaching profession leaders. The non-statutory guidance has triggered some teachers who feel as though the expectations set out by this new guidance system are unreasonable. Key expectations include: to deliver high-quality remote education when…

Teachers Pressured by Lockdown Parents

A report has revealed that 1 in 4 private school teachers felt stressed by remote learning, due to parental pressure, during the lockdowns. Undoubtedly, the parent-teacher boundaries became blurred during the remote learning period, with some parents taking a more active approach to their child’s learning, much to the dismay of some teachers. Many felt…

Key Features Ofsted Inspectors Will Assess Schools On

New advice has been published by Ofsted with instructions on how to gather evidence on thorough investigations of individual subjects, as well as assess schools’ catch-up work. Here are some of the key features Ofsted’s inspections teams will be looking out for: Assess the Quality of Catch-up Tutoring Tutoring is a significant part of the…

Covid Catch-up Tutoring Plans for Schools

The Department for Education (DfE) plans to launch extra tutoring provision to complement the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). The government is upscaling its tutoring offer with £1 billion designated for 100 million hours worth of catch-up support over the next three years. The majority of the investment will go towards the schools themselves, which will then…

Williamson Outlines Catch-up Plans, Exams and Ofsted

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has recently outlined his plans for Ofsted, exams and catch-up funding. Here are some of his key education objectives for the near future: Accelerated Ofsted Inspections Williamson is considering accelerating the timetable of Ofsted inspections. There are some schools that have not been inspected for 14 years, and many of them…

Teachers Overloaded with GCSE Grading Work

According to a recent Tes poll, 8 in 10 teachers believe that the workload for grading GCSEs and A Levels has been too intense. Two thirds of teachers have reported that they have lost at least a week of their own time to grading work.  A Tes survey conducted of 2,800 teachers suggested that 64 percent worked…