Education Minister Kirsty Williams has today announced a further £72 million to support learners as part of the response towards recovery and progression since the pandemic.
Step One of the roadmap begins tomorrow with pupils returning to face-to-face education.
From:
Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street, Department for Education, Public Health England, The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, and The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP
The Prime Minister has today hailed the collective efforts of the public to bring infection rates down so we can start Step One of the roadmap, with pupils across England returning to school and college from tomorrow.
Following successful sessions for headteacher colleagues, school staff (teachers, deputes, PTs and support staff), early learning and childcare (ELC) and community learning and development (CLD) colleagues are being invited to a conversation with the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, and Gayle Gorman, HM Chief Inspector of Education.
The event, from 16.15 to 17.30 on Monday 15 March, is an opportunity to engage in dialogue about learning and teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of Scottish Education.
During the sign-up process, participants will be asked to submit a question for consideration. These questions will then be collated, themed and presented for discussion by a representative at the live session. Throughout the session, there will be opportunities to ask supplementary questions using a chat function.
Outline programme:
Brief introductions from Deputy First Minister and Gayle Gorman
Conversation, using the themes from the questions and focused on learning and teaching
Final summary
You can register for the event now. Places are limited to 3,000 participants and registration will close at 17.00 on Thursday 11 March. Please note, the event is being hosted by an external partner, therefore Glow access is not required. This session will be recorded and shared afterwards.
The STEM bursary scheme to encourage more people to train as secondary school teachers in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computing Science, Technical Education and Home Economics is set to continue.
These are the secondary school STEM subjects with the greatest demand for teachers, and 150 bursaries will once again be available for career changers to apply for the £20,000 bursary in the next academic year while studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE).
2019/2020 cohort finished their studies in UK Universities after being awarded a Chevening scholarship.
From: British Embassy Guatemala City
The British Embassy in Guatemala organized a “welcome home” event for Chevening Scholars. It was an opportunity look back on a year of study, achievements and cultural activities in the UK, and to open up new opportunities as the scholars become part of the global Chevening Alumni network.
2019/2020 cohort finished their studies in UK Universities after being awarded a Chevening scholarship.
From: British Embassy Guatemala City (for Honduras)
The British Embassy organized a “welcome home” event for Chevening Scholars. It was an opportunity look back on a year of study, achievements and cultural activities in the UK, and to open up new opportunities as the scholars become part of the global Chevening Alumni network.
New £700 million plan laid out to help young people in England catch up on lost learning due to the pandemic
From: Department for Education and The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP
Following the announcement of the roadmap yesterday which laid out a cautious easing of restrictions, the government has today, Wednesday 24 February, announced further elements of the recovery support package so children and young people can catch up on missed learning and development due to the pandemic.
A study conducted by Public Health England (PHE) estimates that 17.8% of university students in England had COVID-19 antibodies.
From: Public Health England
The COVID-19 university seroprevalence study was carried out among the student population in England. It was conducted between 2 to 11 December 2020 at 5 universities across the country, which had reported COVID-19 outbreaks during the autumn term. The study found that, overall, 17.8% of 17 to 25 year old students had antibodies from prior COVID-19 infection.
Proportion of pupils in Higher or Further Education at record high.
93.3% of pupils had a ’positive destination’ including work, training or further study within three months of leaving school last year, official statistics show.
The proportion of school leavers in higher or further education is at a record high, with 72.2% continuing in education in 2019-20, up from 67.6% in 2018-19.
The government has today (Monday 22 February) set out its plan for the return of all pupils to schools and colleges as part of the roadmap for leaving lockdown, published this afternoon on gov.uk.
The government has been clear that the return to face-to-face education is the national priority and that 2 weeks’ notice would be given ahead of any change. The return to school for all pupils is being prioritised due to the significant and proven impact caused by being out of school to the health and wellbeing of children and young people.
The recently published Skills for Jobs white paper sets out an extensive suite of reforms for post-16 education.
In doing so it envisages a fundamental shift in the way further and higher education is accessed, and how student finance will need to be delivered by the UK Government. It will not be lost on many readers that the implications for the Student Loans Company and our administration of student finance in the coming years are potentially mammoth.
Education Scotland has awarded Inverness College UHI, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, £11,600 to develop and deliver an online CPD module which will support up to 40 practitioners initially with teaching cyber security in the broad general education (BGE).
This funding has been announced in support of Cyber Scotland Week (22nd – 28th February) which aims to increase cyber awareness, encourage innovation in cyber security and inspire people to discover a career in cyber technology.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) is urging full-time, undergraduate students in England to get ready to apply for student finance ahead of the application service launching in early March.
So far this year, SLC has funded over 1 million students and anticipates an increase in applications for academic year 21/22. To help students to get ready to apply, SLC is asking them to register their interest by inviting them to sign up to our Apply Now mailing list.
Tougher legal measures to strengthen free speech and academic freedom at universities in England have been announced by the Education Secretary today (16 February), to stamp out unlawful ‘silencing’ on campuses.
Following an increasing number of cases of individuals being silenced, the Education Secretary has warned of a ‘chilling effect’ where students and staff feel they cannot express themselves freely.
Pupils at nine schools in Scotland have been successful in reaching the semi-final stage of the 2021 CyberFirst Girls Competition, run by part of GCHQ.
Girls in Scotland have demonstrated their digital skills and codebreaking prowess by seeing off competition from thousands of rivals in the UK’s flagship cyber security contest.
Pupils at nine schools in Scotland have been successful in reaching the semi-final stage of the 2021 CyberFirst Girls Competition, run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ.
More than 6,500 girls nationwide entered this year’s qualifying round, with teams from more than 600 schools tackling online cyber security puzzles for a chance to be named local champions and progress to the UK Grand Final.
The highest scoring teams will next take on their rivals in semi-finals in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and English regions. Schools that have already accepted their place in the virtual semi-final include: Hyndland Secondary School in Glasgow and Carluke High School in Carluke.
