Welcome to the Tes coronavirus liveblog. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is causing uncertainties for everyone.
Schools have faced unprecedented disruption, and are now gearing up reopen classrooms which have been closed to all but the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils since the start of term.
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 and 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
Question mark over Ofsted return next term 'and beyond'
Uncertainty surrounds Ofsted's plan for a comeback next term after a reference to the return to full graded inspections was removed from its Covid-19 guidance to schools.
The watchdog had previously said that "routine inspections, which result in a school being awarded a new grade or being confirmed in its current grade, will resume in the summer term" for maintained schools and academies.
However this has now been removed from its section on its phased return to inspection.
You can read more here.
3 in 5 school staff oppose 8 March reopening plan
The majority of school staff are against the government’s plan for the full reopening of schools next week, a survey by Britain’s largest teaching union suggests.
The NEU survey, responded to by around 44,000 teachers, school leaders and support staff, was sent out following the announcement by Boris Johnson last Monday that all pupils would return to school on 8 March.
You can more about the results here.
Ofsted should stay 'on the margins' to give teachers space
In order to "teach like they've never taught before" in the wake of the pandemic, teachers will need "as few distractions as possible", a heads' leader said today.
So Ofsted should "keep on the margins" for the time being, ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton told MPs.
You can read the full story here.
Covid funding and catch-up plan: What else do schools need from tomorrow's Budget?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing calls to prioritise school funding in his Budget being announced tomorrow.
Here are three things which the chancellor is being asked to deliver by school leaders and teaching unions.
PM insists on no masks for primary pupils
This morning it emerged that one Labour-run London council had told primary schools under its control that pupils should be advised to wear masks when they return to the classroom next week.
But the government has now stepped in to insist that face coverings are only necessary for pupils in Year 7 and above.
The prime minister's official spokesperson said that officials had been in contact with Redbridge Council in east London after it told primary schools that pupils should wear masks.
The council's Labour leader Jas Athwal said "in some cases" the authority had gone beyond the official advice.
Read the full story here.
Full return of pupils to Scottish schools now likely more than a month earlier
All pupils should be back inside school buildings in some way from Monday 15 March, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.
She confirmed that P4-7 pupils are due to return full time from that week – with P1-3s having returned last week – and that in secondary schools the priority would continue to be S4-6.
However, the biggest development today was that it is now the hope that S1-3 secondary students will return to school buildings for some of each week, from 15 March through to the Easter holidays.
The previous target date was 5 April, but, given the holidays, that could have been more than two weeks later in practice.
Read the full story here.
Laptop targets met just as pupils return to class
The Department for Education will reach its pledge of delivering 1.3m free laptops for remote lockdown education as schools reopen more widely to all pupils from March 8, new figures suggest.
In the last two weeks, the DfE has delivered around 160,000 laptops at a rate of 80,000 per week, which is a slightly higher delivery rate than previously - up from 70,000 in the last week recorded before half term.
On Sunday, the total delivered stood at 1,217,194, meaning that there are still 82,806 laptops to be delivered before the 1.3 million target is reached.
Read more here.
Lockdown: Number of teachers and pupils in school rises
Latest figures show the proportion of pupils attending school rose to 18.3 per cent last week, compared to 15.9 per cent the week before half term
The DfE stats published today estimate that 41 per cent of teachers and school leaders were working on-site in open state-funded schools last week compared to 38 per cent before the break.
Around 55 per cent of primary teachers were attending school last week, compared to 24 per cent of secondary school teachers.
‘Not appropriate’ to strike over schools reopening
Britain's biggest teaching union has said it would not be "appropriate" or "achievable" to hold a national strike over the government's proposed wider reopening of schools on 8 March."
The indication we have from the membership is that they would not support a national ballot - we would not get the ballot threshold that we need to take a national ballot," Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union said in a members’ meeting yesterday."
So it's an easy thing to say ballot but that is not going to stop a school return on 8 March and nor do we think it is the achievable or appropriate action under these new circumstances," she said.
Read more here.
Questions remain in run-up to full return
Good morning.
With just a few days to go before all pupils are meant to be returning to classrooms, there seem to be some details yet to be ironed out. For example, continued confusion over mask rules could lead to "anarchy" from 8 March, it was warned yesterday.
But there is to be no going back. Despite concerns about a new variant from Brazil, thought to be more contagious, there is no need to rethink the first milestone in the government's "roadmap", health secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday.
We'll continue to bring you the latest news, and you can catch up on yesterday's developments here.
