Tuesday
What Ofsted’s view on deep dives means for schools
Michael Tidd reads between the lines of Ofsted’s latest inspection blog to find some comfort for schools about what inspectors want when delving into a school’s curriculum
21 schools have Ofsted deferral requests rejected
But new data suggests watchdog is increasingly willing to defer school inspections
Monday
Daily Covid tests: What schools need to know
Covid contacts as young as 5 will be expected to take a week of lateral flow tests in new national approach
School leaders ‘in dark’ on Omicron contact testing plan
School leaders say lateral flow test plan for children as young as five feels ‘rushed’
Omicron: Heads warn of school closures
Teaching union calls for staggered school start in January amid fears new Covid variant will cause ‘chaos’ in schools
Why the government’s EBacc targets will be missed
The DfE’s goal is for three-quarters of GCSE students to be taking the EBacc by 2022 – but the number of entrants is in decline
Wednesday
Covid Plan B: Lack of school measures ‘disappointing’
Prime minister Boris Johnson says pupils should stay in schools and nativities should go ahead amid Omicron spread
DfE sets target to increase teacher quality by 2024
The DfE has also set a target to reduce the number of new teachers who leave the profession
Friday
Zahawi praises teachers for using diverse texts
‘I applaud teachers for responding with enthusiasm’ to calls for diversity from pupils, says education secretary
Schools told to run on-site Covid tests in January
Government asks secondary schools to run testing at the beginning of 2022 to curb the spread of Covid after Christmas
Stage ‘important’ live nativity shows, schools told
Schools minister urges schools to go ahead with festive shows as those in Covid hotspots cancel in-person festive plans
