Wild Search Education news roundup
30th June 2020
Full time in September?
The Prime Minister announced last week that all pupils can return to full-time education in September. How this can happen will be explained this Thursday, says the FT. They report that measures may include dropping non-core subjects, fines for non-attendance, the establishment of (sometimes quite large) bubbles, staggered school days and dropping social distancing.
However, the feasibility of having all students back in September is being questioned by Steve Chalke, the head of the Oasis chain of Academies, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, education unions and others.
Will Thursday’s announcements be enough to reassure them or will the government need to temper their plans?
A Turn to Tutoring
Will Orr Ewing celebrates the government’s decision to put forward £350 million for the establishment of a National Tutoring Programme, allowing schools to access subsidised tutoring to help children catch up.
Will is the founder of Keystone Tutors, one of a number of tutoring companies who offered their services for free or at a reduced rate during the pandemic to key workers or those with limited means.
He argues that the DfE should encourage online deliver, a format to which tutors are better accustomed than classroom teachers, so that children in more remote areas are given the same standard. Also, he urges that quality is prioritised, rather than purely children to tutor ratios or number of hours. In addition, integration with existing virtual learning programmes to quickly identify challenging areas for the student would allow for more focused sessions, he suggests.
He notes that it has been 150 years since education became compulsory in this country and wonders whether this turn to tutoring will outlast the corona-related challenges, and as Gavin Williamson suggests could lead to ‘long term reform to the education sector’.
University Research Support Package
Low interest loans and government grants will be available to support universities’ research work, Business Secretary Alok Sharma announced on Sunday. These can cover up to 80% of income losses caused by a decline in international students.
There will also be around £200 million in government investment for immediate support and a further £80 million to be distributed by UKRI.
Sharma said “The support we are putting in place will give our world-leading universities a lifeline by protecting jobs to ensure our best minds can continue discovering new innovations that will benefit us all for generations to come.”