Survey of students in England reveals huge disparities in effects of lockdown and school closures.
Children studying for exams and those from disadvantaged families are the most likely to have suffered severe disruption to their learning and motivation during the pandemic, according to the largest published study of its impact on pupils in England.
Read MoreHaving had a miscarriage myself and also having family members, including my mother, who have also suffered miscarriages, or in one case - double figure miscarriages, I feel that Chrissy Teigen showing the reality of miscarriage is incredibly important.
My now ex best friend, told me that as my miscarriage had been at 9 weeks, it hadn’t even been a real baby. To add further pain, she refused to see me in the following few days, unless I went across London to meet her, as she was too busy to fit me into her schedule. When I offered to meet her half way, she told me I was obviously too “sick” to leave my home. Her schedule that day - to meet a friend who had to put her horse to sleep that week. My miscarriage meant nothing to her. She’s now a mother herself and I hope has a less icy heart.
Read MoreIn this letter, leading educators demand urgent action as they launch a group aiming to overhaul the testing regime in schools.
We were told this summer that it was a “mutant algorithm” that had caused the anguish of the exam fiasco. Covid may have exposed the failings, but in truth, something more profound is going on, and it has been brewing for years: we have a mutant exam system.
Created with good intentions — “to raise standards” — it has mutated into something that neither measures the right things nor is very reliable, and leaves in its wake a trail of stress and unfairness.
Many of those who are involved in the exams merry-go-round are reaching the same conclusion — it’s not fit for purpose and needs to change.
This week a new group— Rethinking Assessment — is being launched to do something about it.
Read MoreSarah Fletcher, the high mistress of St Paul's Girls' School in London and a member of the HMC, offers thoughts on better ways young people can be assessed than out-dated GCSEs.
Everything has changed over the past few months.
We have put students from across the world in the same classrooms, safeguarded new ways of working and shared resources and online platforms.
Most extraordinary of all, teachers have helped in the awarding of grades and we have cancelled all assessments from key stage 1 to key stage 5.
Imagining the unimaginable is something we should do more often! And what better place to start than with the curriculum?
Read MoreSeeing meaning in the unexpected can help turn mistakes into opportunities, says researcher Dr Christian Busch.
See something in the unexpected and connect the dots.
Read More
