National news
Free fast broadband offered in UK to support home schooling
Monday 18th January 2021Families in 37 local authority areas with poor or no connection can get service until end of summer termThousands of families struggling with home learning are being offered free high-speed broadband following a partnership between internet provider Hyperoptic and dozens of local authorities across the UK...
'Digital poverty' could lead to lost generation of university students, vice-chancellors say
Monday 18th January 2021Higher education bodies tell Gavin Williamson little has been done to help disadvantaged students access remote learningTens of thousands of university students in England need urgent help to stop “digital poverty” from hindering their studies during lockdown, according to a group of vice-chancellors and higher education bodies...
Virtual library gives children in England free book access
Sunday 17th January 2021Pupils in England can read works by popular authors online while schools stay closed in lockdown...
The Observer view on the food parcels scandal | Observer editorial
Sunday 17th January 2021The endless fights over child hunger expose the Tories’ contempt for the poorNobody with a heart wants to see children go hungry during this pandemic...
The government must listen to the voices of food poverty
Sunday 17th January 2021We’ve had endless reviews of policy. Now those who live each day in real hardship should be put at the heart of reformThe photo of two blackening bananas, a tomato, two potatoes, three apples, a loaf of bread, about 200g of pasta, two carrots, slices of cheese, two mini-malt loaves, a can of baked beans and three Frubes is one of the defining images of our times...
A brutal Covid legacy awaits our children. We need the will and ambition to tackle it | Frank Cottrell Boyce
Sunday 17th January 2021Only an event such as wartime evacuation can compare to lockdown...
Private entrants to GCSEs and A-levels face second year of delays
Sunday 17th January 2021Home education advocates call for urgent action to ensure independent students do not miss out on acquiring qualifications Home education advocates have called on the government to act fast to ensure that private entrants to GCSEs, AS-levels and A-levels do not face a second year of delays to obtaining crucial qualifications after summer exams were cancelled again...
'Digital poverty' could lead to lost generation of university students, vice-chancellors say
Sunday 17th January 2021Higher education bodies tell Gavin Williamson little has been done to help disadvantaged students access remote learningTens of thousands of university students in England need urgent help to stop “digital poverty” from hindering their studies during lockdown, according to a group of vice-chancellors and higher education bodies...
The Guardian view on women and Covid: failed by bosses and ministers | Editorial
Sunday 17th January 2021Working parents, and particularly mothers, are in an impossible bind...
Covid-19: Lockdown could 'lose a generation' of young people
Sunday 17th January 2021A charity fears for children who cannot access online learning during the coronavirus lockdown...
Jack Monroe on food poverty and fury: 'I just wake up, look at the news, and get angry'
Saturday 16th January 2021The cook and campaigner barely slept last week as the row raged over inadequate food parcels for kids...
'Cruelly cast aside': A-level victims say summer debacle must never happen again
Saturday 16th January 2021Thousands of 2020 students are still campaigning for justice after losing university offers and apprenticeships when their grades were wrongly reduced The flawed advice to schools last May on how to grade students when exams were cancelled because of the pandemic has been withdrawn from the government’s website and the damage it did consigned to history...
Parents find all-day Zoom less captivating than they expected | Laura McInerney
Saturday 16th January 2021Scrambling for devices and dashing naked from the shower: lockdown 2 has created new hurdles for families – and schoolsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIn lockdown 1 last year, social media was alive with parents complaining that they were being forced to homeschool with little more than an unfathomable worksheet and the occasional email from school...
Covid-19: Rise in suspected child abuse cases after lockdown
Saturday 16th January 2021The number of incidents reported to the child safeguarding panel in England rose by a quarter...
UK Children's welfare becoming 'national emergency', health experts warn
Saturday 16th January 2021A letter to the Observer calls for an urgent review of the long-term impact of lockdowns and school closures on a generationCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson is facing demands from doctors, senior politicians and charities for a wide-ranging commission to examine the pandemic’s “devastating effect” on children, amid growing concerns about its impact on their education, development and mental health...
Marcus Rashford and top chefs demand free school meals review
Friday 15th January 2021The footballer joins celebrities and campaigners to call for action in a letter to the PM...
'Kids can handle hard truths': teachers and their students reckon with capitol attack
Friday 15th January 2021The mob violence in Washington has sparked discussions in schools across the country but for many students of color the scenes were not shockingFifteen-year-old Sevan Minassian-Godner’s brain struggled to process the images of violent, pro-Trump insurrectionists defacing the Capitol...
February school return in Scotland a 'tall order'
Friday 15th January 2021Scotland's education secretary says it will be a challenge for schools to reopen as normal by 1st February...
Many more in school in N.Ireland than first lockdown
Friday 15th January 2021The increase is partly down to special schools remaining open for all pupils, unlike in 2020...
Review of children's social care system launched
Friday 15th January 2021Former teacher Josh MacAlister has been asked to examine every area of the care system of England...
Schools demand No 10 explain unauthorised use of rapid Covid tests
Friday 15th January 2021MPs and scientists also push for answers after it emerged MHRA has not approved use of rapid tests Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSchool leaders, MPs and scientists have demanded the government urgently explain its strategy of carrying out daily coronavirus tests on pupils despite the policy not being approved by the UK’s medicines regulator...
Covid-19: A-level and GCSE results planned for early July
Friday 15th January 2021Replacement exam grades are likely to arrive earlier and be decided by teachers and a test...
Schools in N.Ireland get more time to decide admissions
Thursday 14th January 2021Post-primary schools get extra time to decide how they will admit pupils after transfer tests are cancelled...
Lockdown students get to grips with online learning
Thursday 14th January 2021With schools closed to most students, young people are getting to grips with remote learning...
Heavy snow leads to hundreds of Yorkshire school closures
Thursday 14th January 2021A Met Office warning for heavy snow and ice remains in force across Yorkshire until 21:00 GMT...
What's the science behind closing schools?
Thursday 14th January 2021As most pupils are at home again for lockdown, a government advisor explains why most schools closed...
Students were treated like any other UK consumers – until coronavirus hit | Sonia Sodha
Thursday 14th January 2021Universities and the government have failed thousands of young people and left with them with no recourse for a refundIt has taken a global pandemic to highlight that we live in a country where university students have fewer protections than package holiday customers...
Free school meals: Outcry over move not to supply at half term
Thursday 14th January 2021Schools are told not to supply meals in half term, despite outcry over inadequate food parcelsRead full story...
Free school meals: Government defends half term plans
Thursday 14th January 2021The government defends its plan to switch to a grant scheme to feed children at half term...
UK snow: Covid vaccine centre and schools closed in Yorkshire
Thursday 14th January 2021The vaccine site in Barnsley tells patients its service is suspended and urges them not to travel...
Schools in England told not to provide free school meals at half-term
Thursday 14th January 2021DfE guidance sets government on course for fresh dispute over children going hungry during holidaysCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHeadteachers in England have been told not to provide either free school meal vouchers or food parcels for disadantaged children over the half-term holiday next month, it has emerged...
Row over half term free school meals plan
Thursday 14th January 2021The government defends its plan to switch to a grant scheme to feed children at half term...
Hundred of schools closed by heavy snowfall
Thursday 14th January 2021The vaccine site in Barnsley tells patients its service is suspended and urges them not to travel...
Marcus Rashford calls on PM for wider free school meal review
Thursday 14th January 2021Writing to Boris Johnson, celebrity chefs and over 40 charities join the footballer's call for action...
Experts remain divided over merits of mass Covid tests in schools
Thursday 14th January 2021Analysis: some say lateral flow tests could help cut outbreaks, but others argue they offer false reassuranceRegulator refuses to approve mass Covid testing at schools in EnglandCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has put mass testing for coronavirus at the heart of his strategy to reopen schools after the lockdown...
Regulator refuses to approve mass Covid testing at schools in England
Thursday 14th January 2021Exclusive: Boris Johnson’s plan to test millions of pupils a week in disarray after concerns raisedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson’s plans to test millions of schoolchildren for coronavirus every week appear to be in disarray after the UK regulator refused to formally approve the daily testing of pupils in England, the Guardian has learned...
Headteacher of Marcus Rashford's old school: 'Fed well, children thrive'
Thursday 14th January 2021Emma Roberts says star is an inspiration to pupils at Button Lane primary and hails his efforts on free school mealsTo the headteacher of Marcus Rashford’s old primary school – where, not much more than a decade ago, he received the lifeline of free school meals himself – the furore over meagre food parcels this week came as little surprise...
Schools in England told not to provide free meals at half-term
Thursday 14th January 2021DfE guidance sets government on course for fresh dispute over children going hungry during holidaysHead of Marcus Rashford’s old school: ‘Fed well, children thrive’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government has once again become mired in a row over free school meals after it emerged that headteachers in England have been told not to supply vouchers and food parcels to disadvantaged children over the February half-term holiday...
Marcus Rashford calls on PM for wider free schools meal review
Thursday 14th January 2021Writing to Boris Johnson, celebrity chefs and over 40 charities join the footballer's call for action...
Regulator refuses to approve mass daily Covid testing at English schools
Thursday 14th January 2021Exclusive: Boris Johnson’s plan to test millions of pupils a week in disarray after concerns raisedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson’s plans to test millions of schoolchildren for coronavirus every week appear to be in disarray after the UK regulator refused to formally approve the daily testing of pupils in England, the Guardian has learned...
Marcus Rashford and top chefs demand free school meals review
Thursday 14th January 2021Celebrities and over 40 charities join the footballer's call for action, in a letter to Boris Johnson...
Covid-19: Special school staff want jab priority
Wednesday 13th January 2021Parents of disabled children are calling for teachers in special schools to receive the Covid-19 vaccine...
'People are traumatised and scared': Germany's student-ran law clinics for refugees
Wednesday 13th January 2021Over 30 drop-in law clinics have sprung up across Germany to help refugees apply for asylumAfter fleeing war, human rights violations, or persecution, refugees and asylum seekers in Germany must overcome another hurdle; to stay in the country they have to submit an asylum application...
GCSE and A-level pupils could sit mini exams to aid grading
Wednesday 13th January 2021Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said this would help teachers to decide "deserved grades"...
Share your experiences of school laptop provision during the pandemic
Wednesday 13th January 2021We would like to hear from teachers, parents and students on their experiences around laptop provision for children remote learning across the UK According to Ofcom, about 9% of children in the UK – between 1...
If you want to truly understand China, do you need to be able to speak Chinese? | Yangyang Cheng
Wednesday 13th January 2021As a student, I learned English was the language of opportunity – a belief that keeps most Chinese invisible to the global eliteI remember the muted pain in my classmate’s voice when he raised his hand to speak...
'People are traumatised and scared': Germany's student-run law clinics for refugees
Wednesday 13th January 2021Over 30 drop-in law clinics have sprung up across Germany to help refugees apply for asylumAfter fleeing war, human rights violations, or persecution, refugees and asylum seekers in Germany must overcome another hurdle; to stay in the country they have to submit an asylum application...
GCSEs and A-levels likely to be partly assessed by cut-down versions of exams
Wednesday 13th January 2021Education secretary to look into use of ‘externally set tasks’ to help teachers in England assess final gradesGCSE and A-level grades are likely to be assessed by schools partly using cut-down versions of exams, after the education secretary and England’s exam regulator included them as options in a consultation on how to award grades this summer...
Fresh U-turn over free school meals as Labour criticises guidance on parcels
Wednesday 13th January 2021Ministers abandon ‘food parcel first’ policy as Labour slams official guidance on what packages should containThe government has been forced into a U-turn over free school meal provision during lockdown, as it emerged that its own guidance on what should be in food parcels is strikingly similar to images circulating on social media that the prime minister described as “unacceptable”...
Rashford takes on the government – again: Politics Weekly podcast
Wednesday 13th January 2021Jessica Elgot is joined by Rafael Behr to talk about a week of confusion over lockdown rules and free school meals...
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