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15 Jan, 44 tweets, 19 min read
Given @GavinWilliamson failure to apologise this week for 'last-minute' decisions on schools policy during the pandemic, we thought it might be useful to put to together one handy thread of every U-turn from the @educationgovuk since April last year(1/43)🤓tes.com/news/covid-no-…
Free school meals will come up a lot in this thread, but here is the first governmental U-turn before the Easter Holidays. (2/43) #FSM
tes.com/news/coronavir…
.@educationgovuk then decided not to fund #FSM in the following half-term break, they changed their minds after a public outcry. (3/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
Taking a break from #FSM, we head straight into the #Alevels2020 exams debacle, with Scotland’s grade U-turn putting pressure on the @educationgovuk (4/43) tes.com/news/coronavir…
Ministers in Westminster were determined not to U-turn (5/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
BUT... they inevitably did. @heymrshallahan had some questions (6/43)
tes.com/news/gcses-and…
Here is a full rundown of how the summer A-level and GCSE fiasco happened by @CathImogenLough (7/43)
tes.com/news/A-level-a…
Unsurprisingly @ASCL_UK and @RealGeoffBarton called for an inquiry into the fiasco (8/43)
tes.com/news/gcses-and…
During the exams fiasco, @gavinwilliamson fended off calls for his resignation (9/43)
tes.com/news/exams-u-t…
Experts gave five reasons why the crisis around exams last year was avoidable (10/43)
tes.com/news/5-reasons…
Now during this crisis, there was growing concern that school staff would be sent back in to teach without adequate protection from the Coronavirus. They were told that they didn’t need to have facemasks…….
until they did… (11/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
While this decision was welcomed, its late notice was a burden on headteachers who had to implement it with not much notice (12/43)
tes.com/news/face-mask…
Let’s not forget the continuing saga around #FSM. Enter @MarcusRashford, who got the government to U-turn again (13/43)
tes.com/news/marcus-ra…
Now let’s jump to before Christmas. Owing to rising infection rates, Greenwich advised their schools to shut before the end of term – several councils later advised the same. (14/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
But @educationgovuk threatened these schools with legal action, resulting in schools re-opening doors for the last few days of term. (15/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
The General Secretary of @ASCL, @RealGeoffBarton, accused the @educationgovuk of using "bully boy tactics" to stick to a "robotic mantra to keep schools open whatever the cost" but added "the costs could be incredibly high." (16/43)
tes.com/news/there-wil…
On 16 December, our reporters @tweetsbyames and @JohnGRoberts started to hear that there could be a delayed return in Janurary after all. (17/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
There was also a whole outcry and U-turn over having school staff carry out Covid tests around the same time… (18/43)
tes.com/news/covid-tur…
Then a Tes scoop revealed that most secondary school pupils would be learning online in the first week back next year, with only exam groups back in person. . .
This announcement came in the same week @educationgovuk took legal action to stop some London schools moving online (19/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
In order to get the @educationgovuk testing in place for January, @MattHancock wanted headteachers to work over Christmas to make sure it was ready. (20/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
We revealed the government’s plans of school reopening after mounting pressure for a delayed start owing to Covid infection rates rising countrywide. (21/43)
tes.com/news/exclusive…
Some primary schools were to remain shut, raising questions over why some councils were chosen above others (22/43)
tes.com/news/revealed-…
School leaders started to demand @educationgovuk’s reasoning around certain primaries being closed and not others (23/43)
tes.com/news/covid-cal…
U-turn incoming! All primary schools in London were closed….raising questions over why some in other Tier 4 areas across England were still scheduled to open (24/43)
tes.com/news/school-cl…
However, the government insists the U-turn wasn’t about safety concerns… (25/43)
tes.com/news/london-u-…
The unions then got involved, forming an alliance to protest @gavinwilliamson’s plan @NEUnion @NASUWT @NAHTnews @unisontheunion @GMB_union & @unitetheunion (26/43)
tes.com/news/teachers-…
The government then (you guessed it) U-turned, after sending school staff in to teach for one day. It also announced a volte face on exams - cancelling summer GCSE and A-level exams for a second year in a row (27/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
January BTEC exams were required to keep going despite concerns about risks to students (28/43)
tes.com/news/btecs-its…
Even top Conservative’s said the government’s handling of school policy was a shambles (29/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
Turns out the @educationgovuk was in the dark by the PM’s exam announcement (30/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
Then decision to allow colleges and schools to decide where or not to run their January BTEC exams led to confusion (31/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
Heads unions ask why a plan B for GCSE’s isn’t ready yet? (32/43) tes.com/news/gcses-202…
From the beginning there has been a mad scramble to get laptops to all students in need, this process has not gone well (33/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
Now unions warn the lack of laptop previsions could undermine the lockdown effort to control the surging spread of coronavirus (34/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
.@gavinwilliamson speaking at the commons has said that the DfE has learned lessons from previous problems with exams, remote learning and FSM…….. (36/43)
tes.com/news/gavin-wil…
However, some say that the DfE forgot about January Btec exams, leaving individual colleges scrambling to work out how to proceed safely - 60% of colleges cancelled their January exams (37/43)
tes.com/news/btecs-alm…
Just in case school staff thought stress levels couldn’t increase, we revealed that @Ofsted planned to send inspectors to schools (38/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
We then revealed covid rates among school staff in some areas are as much as four times the corresponding local authority average - calling into question repeated assurances from government that school staff are not at greater risk (39/43)
tes.com/news/exclusive…
The DfE strangely remains silent on phonics plans following cancellation of primary assessments in 2020-21 academic year (40/43)
tes.com/news/exclusive…
Then thousands of supply teachers are at risk of being “thrown to the wolves” with a sudden loss of earnings due to partial school closures (41/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
Next U-turn drum-roll: Ofsted announces it won’t go into schools until half term after all (42/43)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
If you have made it to the bottom of this thread, firstly well done you, secondly let us know if you think we have missed anything (43/43ish)

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More from @tes

Tes Profile picture
13 Jan
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is due to face MPs shortly for the @CommonsEd hearing on the impact of Covid-19 on education and children’s services. There is so much to go at. Follow this thread for @tes updates
The committee chairman @halfon4harlowMP asks @GavinWilliamson about the controversy over school food boxes. Mr Williamson says he was disgusted at the images of food parcels. He said its been made clear to the sector that this will not be tolerated. #edselctte
@GavinWilliamson says a national voucher scheme with Edenred will be available from next week but schools will have the option of locally procured vouchers #edselctte
Read 28 tweets
Tes Profile picture
5 Jan
How we got here, a thread (1/25)
Before Christmas, owing to rising infection rates, Greenwich advised their schools to shut before the end of term – several councils later advised the same. (2/25)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
.@educationgovuk threatened these schools with legal action if they did, resulting in schools re-opening their doors for the last few days of term. (3/25)
tes.com/news/coronavir…
Read 25 tweets
Tes Profile picture
4 Jan
Prime minister @BorisJohnson now speaking – expecting an announcement on #schoolsreopening
"We need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control" – Boris Johnson confirms that there will be a national lockdown
"Primary schools, secondary schools and colleges must move to remote education from tomorrow" – @BorisJohnson says "alternative arrangements" will be made with Ofqual for the exam season
Read 12 tweets
Tes Profile picture
3 Jan
Should pupils be sent to school tomorrow morning, Boris Johnson is asked by Andrew Marr on @BBCOne: “Yes, absolutely they should, in the areas where schools are open,” he replies.
PM goes on to say any decision will not be political but entirely driven by public health considerations.
PM says “There is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe” but that situation will be “kept under constant review”.
Read 5 tweets
Tes Profile picture
30 Dec 20
Education secretary @GavinWilliamson now delivering a statement in the Commons on plans for bringing children back to school. Stay tuned for live updates.
The government's response is proportionate to the risk at hand, @GavinWilliamson says.
.@GavinWilliamson says in a small number of areas where infection rates are highest, only vulnerable pupils and children of key workers will attend primary school face-to-face. This is NOT all Tier 4 areas. The overwhelming majority of primaries will open as planned on Monday.
Read 22 tweets
Tes Profile picture
5 Nov 19
Today we are bringing you live updates from the @UCET_UK annual conference in Stratford-upon-Avon. First up is keynote speaker @MaryBoustedNEU, joint general secretary of @NEUnion
@UCET_UK @MaryBoustedNEU @NEUnion Bousted begins by saying: "Teachers are the most valuable resource in any education system."
@UCET_UK @MaryBoustedNEU @NEUnion Reflecting on The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey, she tells the conference that, when teachers in England are asked why they want to join the profession, their response is often rooted in a "strong social mission".
Read 26 tweets

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