Wednesday
Teachers in Scotland can ‘volunteer’ not to self-isolate
Deputy first minister responds to concerns over self-isolation exemptions for school staff
5 steps to an effective lesson plan
Time-wasting pro formas have largely disappeared, says Hanna Miller – but consistency is still key in lesson planning
‘De facto school closures’ ahead, warns MP
Commons Education Select Committee chairman Robert Halfon asks why there is no ‘army of volunteers’ for education during Covid pandemic
Just one pupil permanently excluded last year in Scotland
New figures also show teacher numbers are rising – but one in five new teachers failed to secure work this year
Tuesday
Heads’ ‘shock’ over ‘expensive’ DfE air purifiers
School leaders criticise government’s ‘lethargic’ response to air filtration devices
Target date for reducing class-contact time is revealed
Class-contact time in Scotland is very high in international terms, but government has committed to 90-minute reduction
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
Scottish schools will not close early for Christmas
New Covid safety advice for schools in 2022 will be released by the end of this week
Covid: Pupil absence rises by nearly 30,000 in fortnight
But latest attendance data ‘underestimates the scale of the issue’, heads’ union warns
Youngest pupils at greater risk of obesity after pandemic
Data shows rising numbers of pupils at risk of being overweight or obese since Covid pandemic started
21 schools have Ofsted deferral requests rejected
But new data suggests watchdog is increasingly willing to defer school inspections
Teacher pay offer is ‘disappointingly marginal improvement’
New teacher pay offer in Scotland reveals lack of understanding of teacher workload, say unions
