Mini exams ‘would Need fast recovery’
‘IMPORTANT’: Questions remain over exams
THE PM’S jabs pledge may come too late to prepare pupils for possible summer “mini” exams unless there is a “rapid recovery programme”, an exofsted boss last night warned.
While GCSE and A-level grades will be decided by teachers, exam chiefs are considering setting external tests, or mini-assessments for pupils. Sir Michael Wilshaw, chief schools inspector until 2016, welcomed the jabs pledge but warned there may not be enough term time left to fully open schools and help kids catch up.
He said: “Even if schools reopen next month, there would have to be rapid, rapid recovery programmes to ensure youngsters are prepared for assessments in July. It’s really important that Key Stage 4 youngsters get the opportunity to sit exams.”
Schools are set to welcome back pupils on March 8 despite fears from unions of a surge in Covid cases.
Staff have still not been prioritised for the jab when the programme is extended, nor do they have access to basic PPE. School leaders’ union
NAHT said education staff should be in the next phase of the vaccine rollout.
General secretary Paul Whiteman said: “This would help protect staff at work as they are forced to take greater risks than those able to stay at home.”
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT union, said vaccinating teachers is in the “national interest”.
PM Boris Johnson is set to outline his plans for schools tomorrow but unions warn it would be “reckless” to bring back all pupils in England together.
Nine teachers’ and heads’ unions only want a March 8 restart if scientific evidence is clear it is safe and would prefer a phased return. NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: “Young people who are not vaccinated can transmit Covid into their families and the community.” The Government plans to test teachers twice a week but a study revealed less than one in five think they will keep their school safe.
Just 27% believe lateral flow testing is “worthwhile”, a TES survey of 8,000 school staff in England found.
One secondary teacher in Ormskirk, Lancs, said: “Many teachers feel like lambs to the slaughter.”
We found boxes of the 15-minute lateral flow tests being flogged on Facebook, ebay and Gumtree for between £45 and £400.
The kits, made by Innova and strictly not for retail sale, were stolen from the UK supply chain, unique lot numbers show.
The Sunday People understands around a dozen codes correspond to batches sent to the Department of Health last October and November under contracts with the drugs firm worth £829million.
It is not known how many kits were stolen – or from where in the supply chain. The Innova kits were used in the first mass