In the news: your weekly round-up

Top stories

Ofsted inspections won’t restart for a “couple of weeks” while the new chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, responds to the concerns raised in the Ruth Perry inquest. Oliver is launching an internal inquiry into Ofsted’s response to Ruth Perry’s death, as well as leading initial training for all inspectors in supporting school leaders with anxiety [Schools Week]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Stay up to date with all things Ofsted and be informed when a change happens.

No exam support for pupils affected by school closures due to RAAC. The DfE has confirmed they can’t make changes, despite pupils’ worries about missing out on specialised equipment, or being impacted by disruption [BBC News]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Get answers to FAQs on the current concerns about RAAC, and understand what the situation means for your school.

Edexcel announces plans to allow digital exams from 2025. Exams such as GCSE English will no longer need to be handwritten, according to one of the UK’s largest assessment boards [The Telegraph- registration required]. 

Support from GovernorHub Knowledge: Understand how to monitor whether your school is meeting the DfE’s digital and technology standards ahead of a transition to digital exams.

This week's headlines

Schools Week

• Post-Brexit Erasmus replacement, the Turing Scheme, misses schools target by over 40% in first year

Tes Magazine - registration required

• Institute for Government (IfG) report calls for an end to the “cliff-edge” practice of forced intervention following two ‘requires improvement’ inspections
• LocatED, the DfE's property firm, publishes its annual report and accounts

GOV.UK

• Sir Martyn Oliver begins his tenure with mental health awareness training for inspectors

The Guardian 

• Labour plans thousands of nursery places in English primary schools

Upcoming dates

Saturday 6 January – Epiphany

Get your weekly reminder

Sign up to the news briefing email