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Daily News Summary
20 June 2022

This year's exams will be the most generously graded ever, says Ofqual chief
Winners of the Tes Schools Awards 2022 announced
DfE announces new measures to tackle school absence rates
Boris Johnson considers lifting ban on new grammar schools
Pupil launches sign language service to help deaf children watch Disney movies
Job adverts for secondary school teachers increase by 47 per cent in one year
Lack of "gender identity" teaching factors into primary schools being downgraded by Ofsted
Review into the NTP will not be published until the autumn

This year's exams will be the most generously graded ever, says Ofqual chief

 

Dr Jo Saxton, the chief regulator of Ofqual, has said this year's GCSE and A-levels "will be the most generously graded series of examinations ever", though the results “will be lower than we saw in 2021”. By India McTaggart, The Telegraph.

Jenny Brown, headmistress of City of London School for Girls, said that some families have been booking budget hotels and staying at friends’ houses to ensure their children reach exams on time during the rail strikes this week. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

Exam board AQA apologised to A-level law students on Friday for the “confusion and stress” caused after a 30-mark question on nuisance was included in a paper despite not appearing in the list of topics pupils were told to revise. By India McTaggart, The Telegraph.

 

Winners of the Tes Schools Awards 2022 announced

 

The winners of the Tes Schools Awards 2022 have been announced. Greenfield School won Independent Prep School of the Year, St Dunstan’s College received Independent Senior School of the Year, Gordon’s School was awarded Boarding School of the Year, while The Glasgow Academy won Best Use of Technology. For the teaching awards, Hilary Shergold at Millfield School won the Lifetime Achievement Award and Jon Dean, from Truro High School for Girls, was awarded Subject Lead of the Year (Secondary). Tes.

 
Tes

DfE announces new measures to tackle school absence rates

 

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that all schools will be ordered to hold electronic attendance and admissions registers, with central government given access to the data in a bid to crackdown on school absences. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

 
Schools Week

Boris Johnson considers lifting ban on new grammar schools

 

The Times reports that the prime minister is considering backing a campaign by Conservative backbenchers to lift the ban on new selective schools. By Henry Zeffman and Nicola Woolcock.

 
The Times

Pupil launches sign language service to help deaf children watch Disney movies

 

Mariella Satow, an 18-year-old pupil at Rugby School has launched her own business called SignUp, which provides sign language videos alongside Disney films. The service will be launched in Britain this week and will start operating in other countries across the world later this year. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

 
The Times

Job adverts for secondary school teachers increase by 47 per cent in one year

 

New data from SchoolDash has revealed that job adverts for secondary school teachers are up 47 per cent on last year and 14 per cent on 2019, causing school staff to worry they will be unable to find enough suitably qualified teachers and technicians in time for the start of the next academic year. By Emma Yeomans, The Times.

 
The Times

Lack of "gender identity" teaching factors into primary schools being downgraded by Ofsted

 

According to The Telegraph, Ofsted inspectors have cited the lack of “gender identity” teaching as a contributing factor in downgrading primary schools. By Ewan Somerville.

 
The Telegraph

Review into the NTP will not be published until the autumn

 

A review into whether the Government’s flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP) has helped children to catch up on lost learning has been delayed and will not be published until the autumn. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

 
Schools Week

 

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