New data from the NSPCC reveals that more than 9 in 10 (93%) teachers have observed an increase in child safeguarding concerns within their schools. The national children’s charity worked with teaching union NASUWT to survey 8,329 teachers and senior leaders across the UK. They found that 93% of respondents had seen an increase...
Plans to reform SEND support
The government has announced new plans to reform support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England. Plans announced by the Department for Education, which aim to improve SEND support and the alternative provision system, include earlier diagnoses and a commitment to build 33 more special free schools....
Parents urged to keep sick children at home
Parents have been urged to keep children away from school or nursery if they feel unwell and have a fever, as flu, Covid-19 and Strep A infections continue to rise. The advice was issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as families across the UK prepare for children to return to school and...
‘Disruptive’ Covid school rules to end
Covid-19 control measures for schools, which mean that groups of pupils have to self-isolate when one tests positive, could come to an end in the autumn, it has been suggested. The new Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, has pledged to address the issue after figures revealed that 279,000 children in England were self-isolating after having...
HSE guidance for reopened schools
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued guidance for schools on ensuring they remain Covid-secure as they reopen for the Spring term. England’s health and safety watchdog has reminded schools that they must have mitigating measures in place to control the risks from Covid-19, as well as “arrangements in place to ensure effective...
Vulnerable children must be put ‘centre stage’ post-Covid
The Children’s Commissioner for England has called on the government to put vulnerable children “centre stage” in forthcoming plans to “build back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic. In her final speech after six years in the role, Anne Longfield said that plans to “level up” the nation must start with its most vulnerable children...
Teachers ‘not at significantly higher risk’ from Covid-19
New figures suggest that teachers are not at significantly higher risk of death from Covid-19 than the general population. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that care workers, restaurant staff, taxi drivers, security guards, nurses and people working in certain manufacturing roles were among those with the highest death rates....
Delay to new school term will be ‘as short as possible’
The Education Secretary has said that the closure of schools in England due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic would be as “short as possible.” Gavin Williamson defended the recently announced delay to the start of the new school term, saying that the government was “battling this hidden enemy” and that schools were being provided...
Ofsted warns of ‘invisibility of vulnerable children’ in lockdown
Ofsted have warned that vulnerable children at risk of harm have “slipped out of sight” during the national coronavirus lockdown. England’s Chief Inspector of Schools, Amanda Spielman, has warned that, when schools were closed during the first national lockdown, children may have missed out on the help they needed due to teachers being unable...
Children more likely to catch Covid in second wave
Children are now more likely than adults to be infected with Covid-19 and bring the infection into a household, it has been revealed. The government’s scientific advisors say that the number of school-age children with coronavirus has risen “significantly” during the second wave compared with the first, and that people living with secondary-school-age children...
Calls to end school mental health support ‘lottery’
A new study has called for better mental health support in schools in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown. Released just ahead of World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10th October, the study from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that fewer than half of state schools in England...
Dyslexia Week celebrates creative power of dyslexia
It’s Dyslexia Week 2020, focusing on the theme of #DyslexiaCreates, which explores the creative power of dyslexia to drive ideas, organisations and society. The British Dyslexia Association is marking Dyslexia Week from 5th-11th October this year, looking at the invaluable contribution that dyslexia makes to the UK while also acknowledging that dyslexia can also...