Welcome to the Tes coronavirus liveblog. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is causing uncertainties for everyone.
Schools are facing unprecedented disruption with efforts to keep open and 'Covid-secure' and many teachers facing working with "bubbles" of pupils or delivering remote lessons.
Here, we aim to help teachers in the UK and in international schools by gathering together all the relevant stories in one place and keeping you updated with the latest news and announcements as and when they happen.
And, as ever, we also want to hear from you. What is different in your school, in your working life, because of the virus? If you have stories you want to share or information you think should be circulated, then contact us at: william.stewart@tesglobal.com; charlotte.santry@tesglobal.com and Mary-Louise.Clews@tes.com.
Call for ‘guaranteed minimum contact time’ for teachers in lockdown
Labour shadow ministers have today sent the DfE a list of demands to ensure equality of education for disadvantaged pupils during school closures.
They include that teachers should commit to a guaranteed minimum contact time with their pupils during lockdown, and that the DfE should work to remove online data charges by “zero rating” educational websites.
The letter, from shadow schools minister Wes Streeting and shadow digital minister Chi Onwurah says that more than 1 million pupils are currently being “robbed” of educational opportunities because they still don’t have internet devices.
Read the story here
DfE accused of ‘dereliction of duty’ in no immediate Plan B for exams
Headteachers have expressed frustration that there is not “an off-the-shelf plan B ready to go” following the cancellation of exams this year.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed in Parliament today that GCSE and A-level exams will not go ahead, and said that the Department for Education and Ofqual had worked up "a range of contingency options".
But the Association of School and College Leaders said it had “repeatedly” called on the government and exam regulator Ofqual to prepare immediate contingency plans in the event of this happening.
General secretary Geoff Barton said: “Ministers have been so busy insisting that exams will take place that they have failed to ensure that there is a contingency system which can be immediately rolled out. This is, frankly, a dereliction of duty”.
Read the story here.
Union advice telling staff not to return to school was ‘incorrect’
Education secretary Gavin Williamson has today said two education unions issued wrongful advice telling their members they should not return to the classroom for safety reasons amid increasing Covid-19 infection rates.
In a speech to the House of Commons this afternoon, Mr Williamson said: “I’d like to thank both the National Education Union and Unison for recognising the fact that the action that they took and the advice that they gave their members on Sunday was incorrect and [for the fact] that they have withdrawn that advice.”
But the NEU said this afternoon it had neither withdrawn the advice nor recognised it was incorrect, but that the template letter had been taken down from the website “as it is no longer relevant” following school closures yesterday.
Read the full story here.
Teacher grades used this year but no algorithm says Williamson
Education secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed GCSEs and A levels are cancelled in an address to the House of Commons today, and he said teacher-assessment would be used instead.
Mr Wiliamson told MPs the government had "learned lessons" on exams.
"I can confirm that GCSEs, A levels and AS level exams will not go ahead this summer. This year we’re going to put our trust in teachers rather than algorithms,” he said. The education secretary also said there would be a "further detailed consultation by Ofqual" that will begin next week and last for a fortnight.
Read the full story here.
Was the DfE kept out of the loop on the big exams announcement?
It might sound extraordinary, but shortly before the nation sat down to watch Boris Johnson's televised address on Monday night, officials in Sanctuary Buildings still had no idea that the prime minister was about to announce that this year's GCSE and A-level exams would be cancelled, sources have told Tes.
The DfE had known of the prime minister's intention to scrap the 2021 exams, Tes understands, and had pushed back against the proposals.But officials in the department are said to have been blindsided by Mr Johnson's speech.
Read the full story here.
Despite 'closures', some schools could still have 70% of pupils in
Headteachers say more pupils will turn up to school than in the March lockdown as more are now classed as vulnerable and more key worker parents want places.
And they say this could lead to problems with social distancing and staff shortages, as well as with the ability of schools to balance remote education.
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said: “Some [heads] are saying – particularly in the more deprived areas – if all the children took up their offer of a place they might end up with 50 per cent, 60 per cent or 70 per cent of their students onsite.”
Read the full story here.
Gavin Williamson to explain next steps for schools
Good morning.
With a myriad of questions still looming over the plans for exam students this summer and the expectations on schools during lockdown, education secretary Gavin Williamson is set to address MPs this afternoon with a statement that should provide some further information on what lies ahead.
He is also expected to address widespread fears about the number of pupils who lack the technology for remote learning at home - a fear that was compounded after primaries were told that they could not even order the laptops they needed until further notice.
Whether or not Mr Williamson's appearance in the Commons results in schools getting all the answers they need, he is likely to face a tough grilling.
We'll continue to provide regular updates throughout the day on the latest developments, and you can catch up on the rest of yesterday's news here.
