Education News

The former top Department for Education (DfE) civil servant received a payout of nearly £278,000 to quit his post in the wake of last year’s exam grade fiasco, it has emerged.Jonathan Slater was ousted as permanent secretary after Boris Johnson demanded “fresh official leadership” in August 2020.He had just months left in the £165,000-a-year role when the DfE said he agreed to step down. Official department documents have now revealed Mr Slater was paid £277,780 “for loss of office”.He took home as much as £380,000 in the last financial year, including the severance payment, salary and pension benefits, the annual report and accounts show.His departure from the DfE sparked outrage last year, with Boris Johnson accused of “throwing civil service leaders under a bus” as Mr Slater joined a list of officials to be removed. Less than two weeks after the A-level exam fiasco, the government said in a statement: “The prime minister has concluded that there is a need for fresh official leadership at the Department for Education. “Jonathan Slater has therefore agreed that he will stand down on 1 September, in advance of the end of his tenure in Spring 2021.”Earlier that month, the DfE had come under fire for its system for working out exam grades – which initially relied on an algorithm – after exams were cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. After tens of thousands of A-level grades were downgraded in moderation, the government U-turned and allowed students to take higher grades predicted by their teachers. Mr Slater told Schools Week he first heard about his departure after an enquiry from a journalist for The Times. “One of the advantages of the prime minister having had enough of me is I have more time with the family,” he said earlier this year. Mr Slater and the DfE have been approached for comment. More

Low attendance “remains a stubborn concern” in schools in England, inspections have found, with much of this absence put down to the Covid pandemic. In a new report, Ofsted said positive cases, anxiety over the virus and poor mental health was keeping pupils off school. Its publication comes after government figures estimated 236,000 students did not attend state school in England last week due to confirmed or suspected Covid cases, isolation rules, attendance restrictions and school closures. Ofsted has accelerated the rate of its school inspections, with the government saying this would give a quicker assessment of how well children are catching up on education after facing disruption.After carrying out nearly 100 inspections on schools this term, it concluded “many” were “effectively helping children recover from missed learning”. “Despite positive progress, it is clear from Ofsted’s inspections that low attendance remains a stubborn concern,” it said, adding that schools reported “much of the absence” is for Covid-related reasons. This included: Covid-related anxiety among parents and pupils, poor mental health due to the pandemic, parents rescheduling holidays, “low resilience due to setbacks or illness” and positive Covid tests. “Many schools are still working on getting back to pre-pandemic attendance levels,” Ofsted’s report said.Earlier this week, Geoff Barton from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) warned some pupils were facing disruption to face-to-face education due to the impact on Covid.“Listening to the speculation and the news, and certainly the emails I’ve been getting from members, you are getting some pockets of very severe low attendance, partly young people, partly staff,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.“One has emailed me this morning saying 25 per ecent of staff have been off for three weeks. You can imagine if you can’t then get supply teachers that becomes very difficult to maintain the quality of education.”According to the latest government figures, 2.9 per cent of England’s state school pupils – around 236,000, did not go to school on 9 December – up from 2.6 per cent, or 208,000, two weeks before.While 200,000 of these were off with a confirmed or suspected Covid infection, thousands more were at home due to schools restricting attendance to manage an outbreak, school closures linked to Covid and isolation. More

The education secretary has thrown his weight behind our Skill Up Step Up campaign saying he is living proof that there is no single route to a great career.Nadhim Zahawi likened himself to the “phenomenal young people” highlighted in our Christmas appeal, who are being given a chance to realise their potential and step into sustainable jobs or apprenticeships.As a child, Mr Zahawi was forced to flee his home country of Iraq with his family. He grew up in Sussex and his mother insisted he went to university and reportedly pawned her jewellery so he would not have to worry about finances.Responding to the The Independent’s joint campaign with the Evening Standard, he said: “Like the phenomenal young people highlighted in your Christmas appeal, I am living proof that there is no such thing as a linear education journey. I started school in Iraq and if it hadn’t been for Saddam Hussein, I would no doubt have happily stayed there. But under Saddam, I would have either ended up in one of his prisons or fighting in the war with Iran.“So instead, I came to this country with my family at the age of 11 without knowing a word of English. And I’m now in Her Majesty’s Government, the MP for Shakespeare’s county and the secretary of state for Education. There really is no one, single route to a great career or dream job.”He added that as education secretary he wants to make sure that all young people have the same chance to realise their potential.Our £1m Skill Up Step Up initiative, in partnership with Barclays LifeSkills, will support charities that help unemployed and disadvantaged young Londoners to be “work ready”.A special investigation by this newspaper found that youth unemployment in the capital has soared by 55 per cent since the start of the pandemic to 105,000 with 21 per cent of young people seeking work jobless. At the same time there is a record 1.17million job vacancies nationwide, especially in hospitality. Among young black Londoners the jobless rate rises to 37 per cent.Our Christmas appeal is urging unemployed young people to sign up for free employability training from one of the two charity partners we have announced so far – Springboard and City Gateway. We are also calling on employers to step up to the plate and offer these young people a job or an apprenticeship, and for readers to donate so we can support even more disadvantaged youth into jobs.Mr Zahawi said: “I strongly believe that every young person should have the best start in life so they can progress and secure a rewarding, well-paid job. That’s why we have put tackling the skills gap at the heart of our reforms to education and training.”He added: “But there is still more to do. So it is brilliant that the Evening Standard and Independent is championing young people across London getting the necessary skills to get good apprenticeships or jobs. We are committed to opening doors, offering high-quality options for young people to consider after the age of 16, to help them reach their career goals.” More

The government must appoint a minister for youth employment because the situation for school-leavers is so dire, the head of a major academy chain said today.Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis chain of schools, said so many young people are struggling to find jobs that it is has reached crisis point.It comes as Sir Daniel Moynihan, head of the Harris Federation of schools, said bright young Londoners from poorer backgrounds are missing out on jobs because they lack confidence, networks and social capital. He said teachers feel “awful” seeing pupils leave school in the pandemic and failing to get jobs, adding that one business said it would not employ an intelligent girl with four A-Levels from Essex because of her accent.This week we reported how youth unemployment in London has soared 55 per cent since the pandemic to more than one in five jobless among 16-24 year-olds. Responding to the data, Mr Chalke said: “We have a crisis. We have huge numbers of young people out of work and a huge number of jobs that need filling. It’s a perfect storm. We desperately need a minister or a task force to tackle youth employment and develop a coherent strategy. We need someone senior in government who gets up every morning to look at this.”His criticism comes in the wake of a new report by the House of Lords committee on youth unemployment calling on the government to create a Young People’s Commissioner to champion the voice of people aged 16 to 24.Sir Daniel said youngsters from ethnic minority backgrounds in London – where the jobless rate rises to a shocking 37 per cent – are finding it even harder to get jobs and often face unconscious bias from employers. He called on firms to do more to solve the problem. He said: “There is an issue around unemployment in general but it is particularly affecting ethnic minorities. The social capital among many students is low, by which I mean the networks and contacts they have. Often a more middle-class family will know people who can give someone a start or an internship. Schools need to step up, of course, but firms also need to step up in terms of social responsibility and promoting diversity and inclusion.”Both Mr Chalke and Sir Daniel know well-qualified students who have been rejected for jobs because of how they came across in interviews. Sir Daniel said: “We had a bright young lady from one of our schools who was a lovely person with great A-Levels. She met all the criteria for a job but the firm said her accent was an issue for them with clients. That is an example of how firms could be more inclusive.”Mr Chalke said he recommended a student for a job with a friend who is an employer, but his friend said the candidate would not make eye contact, gave monosyllabic answers and did not smile. Mr Chalke said: “This young person is highly intelligent but lacks the social skills to engage in an interview.” He said the exam system was at fault because it does not value or teach students about teamwork and collaboration, relationships and working with others, which is what employers need. “The careers service we have is not working. The reality is that many kids have support naturally in the form of parents in the right kind of jobs, but many others are less fortunate.” He also called for a “transition service” for people leaving education and going into work. “Because leaving school is a bit like walking off a cliff.”The Department for Education said: “Young people are our future, which is why we made them a key focus of our Plan for Jobs.” More

Face masks should be worn in communal areas in England’s schools and colleges as part of efforts to slow the spread of the omicron Covid variant, the government has said.Pupils in year 7 and above, plus staff and visitors, are being “strongly advised” to wear a face covering under the “temporary and precautionary” measure, which will take effect from Monday. Masks will not be required in classrooms and exemptions will remain in place for those who have a medical reason not to wear one.Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said the measure was a “targeted and proportionate action as a precaution while we find out more information about the new variant”.He added: “We will continue to prioritise children’s and young people’s education and wellbeing, making sure education and childcare settings are as safe as possible and children continue to benefit from classroom teaching.“We are working with education and childcare settings to enhance safety measures where needed, including introducing isolation for 10 days for close contacts of suspected omicron cases.”Students in Year 7 or above should also continue to wear face coverings on public and dedicated school transport, unless they are exempt, the Department for Education (DfE) said, and staff and students should continue to be encouraged to test themselves twice a week using lateral flow tests.The department also said schools, out of school settings and colleges will “want to consider” whether to go ahead with any planned international trips at the current time, given the potential risk to education from the need to isolate and test when returning to the UK.The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) backed the move, saying it was a “sensible response to the risks posed by the omicron variant of Covid-19”.Geoff Barton, ASCL’s general secretary, said: “It appears that the omicron variant may result in more staff and pupil absence thereby worsening an already very grave situation.“It is therefore imperative that the government provides workforce funding to schools and colleges to help with the cost of supply cover for absent staff. “Schools and colleges are in a position of having to provide in-class teaching for some groups of students, and remote education for other groups of students, at the same time as experiencing Covid-related staff absence. They simply cannot sustain the ongoing costs of the supply cover that is required.”Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “We welcome the DfE guidance that masks must be worn by adults and children in Year 7 and above in communal areas. “We think the DfE should go further and encourage mask-wearing in secondary classrooms and also plan investment to improve ventilation and air filtration.“These steps can all help reduce the spread of Covid and thereby reduce disruption to education. Omicron makes the threat of disruption of education all the clearer: any close contacts of an omicron case, staff or pupils, will have to self-isolate for 10 days, whether vaccinated or not.” More

The government has been accused of having “strange ideas” on education catch-up priorities after Ofsted was told to accelerate school inspections.The watchdog has received a funding boost of nearly £24m in a bid to speed up visits to all schools and colleges in England, saying it should now take a year less to cover all settings. The government said all schools and colleges should be inspected by 2025 in order to “give a quicker assessment of how well education is recovering” from the Covid pandemic.But the boost for school inspections has been criticised by headteachers, who have cast doubt over whether it is the best way to support pupils in bouncing back from Covid’s disruption. “We have to say that the government has some strange ideas about the priority for education recovery,” Julie McCulloch from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said.“It isn’t Ofsted inspections that will help children to catch up with lost learning caused by the pandemic but ensuring that schools and colleges have sufficient funding from the government to deliver recovery programmes at the scale required.”The union’s director of policy added: “At the moment, many schools and colleges are still dealing with the disruption caused by the pandemic, and the prospect of also having to deal with a visit from an inspection team isn’t particularly helpful.”Nick Brook, the deputy general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the announcement felt “completely tone-deaf” given the “pressure” schools are facing and calls to pause inspections this term. “We are still a very long way from business as usual in schools,” he added. Figures from the Department for Education (DfE) estimated 130,000 pupils in England were off school for a Covid-related reason last week, with over half of these pupils having tested positive for the virus. Speaking after the Ofsted announcement, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: “Government ministers are showing, yet again, that they have no understanding of the exhaustion and stress felt by teachers and leaders.“Inspection adds hugely to the stress they face coping with high rates of Covid infection in schools and college.”A former national schools commissioner said on Tuesday he was “worried about the strain being placed” on headteachers, amid pressure from anti-vaxxers, Covid absences and Ofsted. “We need these people more than ever and I fear if we don’t look out for them we may lose some brilliant leaders in 2022,” Sir David Carter tweeted. Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of Ofsted, said: “Everyone working in education must do everything they can to give this generation the best possible chance to fulfil its potential.”She added: “Ofsted will play its part – by giving parents and learners up-to-date information, and by helping schools and colleges shape their plans.”Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said: “Nobody underestimates the scale of the challenge schools, colleges and other education providers have experienced through the pandemic.”He said: “Accelerating the rate of Ofsted inspections over the coming years will provide parents with an up-to-date picture and swifter recognition of the hard work of leaders and teachers.”Additional reporting by PA More

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has pledged to look at lengthening the school day in England in a bid to help more pupils recover from the Covid crisis.It has been suggested an extension to the school day will help children catch-up on lost learning and prosper after the pandemic.The recently-appointed minister told MPs there are some “excellent examples” of academy school leaders bringing in longer days that he will examine.Mr Zahawi also said he wanted all schools to ensure they move to the average school day length of 6.5 hours.Speaking in the Commons, Conservative MP Robert Halfon MP – who chairs the education select committee – asked if the cabinet minister would consider making the case for a longer school day.Mr Halfon said the Education Policy Institute had found that a longer day increases educational attainment – especially amongst disadvantaged pupils. “Will he at least consider some pilot schemes in disadvantaged areas?”Mr Zahawi replied: “There are some excellent examples … of a longer school day which I’m going to look at. The average school day now is 6.5 hours and I would like to see everybody move towards that average.”Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said any possible gains from extending the school day “must be weighed against the costs … including the impact on pupils’ mental health, reduced family time and less time for extra-curricular activities”.The union leader added: “Children’s happiness and wellbeing should be prioritised as well as their education.”Speaking at education questions, Mr Zahawi also said “there is no place for anti-vaxxers harassing or coming anywhere near school leaders” – as he insisted the vaccine rollout for senior school pupils “continues at pace”.Labour has called for councils to be able to stop anti-vaccination activists from protesting outside schools by using exclusion orders. Mr Zahawi said home secretary Priti Patel would look at ways to stop harassment of parents or teachers.The education secretary said: “I have the reassurance of the home secretary that she’ll make any resources available that the sector needs to make sure those people in our schools are protected and are able to get on with the job of teaching children and protecting them.”Meanwhile, education minister Michelle Donelan appealed for university lecturers to “reconsider taking strike action” amid a dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions.The Tory MP told the Commons: “I am deeply concerned about it because there is the threat of strikes, our students are now in a position to have face-to-face teaching, and I would urge every lecturer to reconsider taking strike action.”The universities minister added: “Strikes before have not helped the situation but they have impacted students, who deserve a fairer deal.” More

Universities should not opt for online learning instead of face-to-face teaching to cut costs, a minister has said. In-person teaching has been allowed at universities for all courses since May, after Covid lockdown measures meant some degrees had been online-only for months. But even though there are no longer restrictions on face-to-face learning, a number of universities have decided to keep some virtual elements. Michelle Donelan, the universities minister, said on Wednesday online learning can be useful – but should not be done to keep costs down. “Students are consumers, they do have rights. They should be getting what they’ve been informed they were going to get,” she told the education select committee.“But it’s not as simple as saying online is bad, face-to-face is good, because in some scenarios it can add, but it should never be used as a cost-cutting exercise.”She said some online provision can “enhance learning” and some students have requested it. But she told MPs: “Online should never be used as a cost-cutting exercise or to devalue education or take away from it, and that we’re very clear on.“I’m writing to vice-chancellors this week once again on this matter to reinforce our message on it.”The government has said it expects universities to return to delivering face-to-face teaching, including lectures, now that restrictions have been removed.Professor Tansy Jessop, pro vice-chancellor of the University of Bristol, said around a third of learning was online.She told MPs: “I think if we switched off all our online media they’d be quite anxious.”Other universities which have decided to continue providing some online teaching include the University of Liverpool, the University of Kent and University College London. The University of Portsmouth said students wanted to “keep some of the positive changes” that blended learning offered last year and so were keeping some online components this term. Universities UK, which represents over 100 institutions, said universities are “maximising face-to-face opportunities” this term given the restrictions of the past year, but that some elements, such as large lectures, may still be online “where there are clear benefits for students or for public health reasons”.Additional reporting by Press Association More