Face coverings must be worn in the communal areas of secondary schools and colleges in England in an extension of rules that will apply through the new lockdown.
Schools will be given another week to enforce the restrictions, which do not apply to classrooms. The government was lambasted by teaching unions for landing the guidance on head teachers’ desks less than 24 hours before the start of the national lockdown.
Read more in The Guardian
Hundreds of English schools still at risk from crumbling concrete
Hundreds of schools in England are still at risk of collapse from crumbling concrete, according to previously unpublished figures. Official data, which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Thousands of young people placed in council care more than 20 miles away from home, analysis shows
A third of children in council care in 2023 lived over 20 miles away from their local area, school and family – around 4,600 people in total.
£600m boost for social care next year announced in Budget
Councils’ available spending to grow by an estimated 3.2% in real terms in 2025-26, with authorities also given £250m to test new approaches in children’s
