What's New

We reported recently an announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that certain critical workers would be able to leave self-isolation in exceptional circumstances (see Testing, vaccine passports and jabs for young people).

As England moved to the fourth step on the Government’s roadmap, with many restrictions lifted or at least made a matter of personal responsibility, more details have been made available about what lies ahead.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced programmes targeted at pupils starting primary and secondary school, who will take part in focused English and maths catch-up sessions.

Trainee teachers could benefit from new, high-quality training courses as part of Government proposals to drive up standards of teacher training.

After the announcement that most Covid restrictions in England would be lifted on 19 July (see Emphasis on “personal responsibility” as restrictions ease , Scotland is set to follow suit — although it will retain a number of public health measures.

British Airways (BA) is the first airline in the world to conduct a trial of an ultra-rapid Covid-19 antigen test that displays results within 25 seconds.

As was widely expected, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that Step 4 of the Roadmap out of lockdown restrictions will proceed as planned on 19 July.

The use of restraint in schools should be monitored, recorded and analysed with the same rigour as exclusions, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said in a new report.

Ofsted has published updated education inspection handbooks, clarifying how inspectors will assess the way that schools and colleges confront sexual harassment, abuse and violence among children and young people.

Following the Prime Minister’s statement about changes to be introduced from 19 July (see Prime Minister sets out end of most Covid-19 rules in England), the Government has issued more details of what can be expected in the next few weeks.