Schools can ditch art and drama when they reopen in September to focus on Maths & English
TEACHERS will be asked to focus on subjects like maths and English when pupils return to class in September – while art and drama courses could be sidelined.
New Government advice calls for headteachers to make sure staff are teaching “the most important missed content” after British kids lost months of school time during the coronavirus lockdown.
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The document warns that “education is not optional”, and while the curriculum should be “broad and ambitious”, the focus must be on the key subjects.
The guidance reads: “Up to and including key stage 3, prioritisation within subjects of the most important components for progression is likely to be more effective.”
Education bosses say they want schools to return to a normal curriculum by next summer.
It comes after GCSE and A-level students were told they can re-sit their exams in the autumn if they’re unhappy with their grades.
However, new grades will be based on exams alone with no coursework – except in art and design qualifications, officiators Ofqual said.
This year’s exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and instead teachers will look at previous exams and other work from the past year to give them a grade.
What will happen with this year's exam results?
Youngsters unhappy with their exam results this year can choose to retake in the autumn. Here's how it'll work
A-level pupils will get their results on August 13 and GCSE students will be given grades on August 20.
Neither age group sat exams this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which means teachers will allocate grades based on existing work.
Anyone unhappy with their result can now re-sit in the autumn – but be warned, the new grade will be based entirely on an exam (apart from in art and design courses).
Ofqual has confirmed that exam boards must make exams available in all the GCSE, AS and A-level qualifications that they had planned to run in the summer – but in the autumn term instead.
It said: “Any appeal would have to be undertaken by someone better placed than the student’s teachers to judge their likely grade if exams had taken place – in the unique circumstances of this summer, we do not believe there is any such person.”
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will today announce his plan to get all students back into the classroom in September.
It’s understood there will be no in-class social distancing for primary pupils, although secondary students will be advised to keep a metre apart.
Teachers will be advised to keep two metres away from pupils.
Face coverings won’t be recommended – because they ‘interfere’ with learning, it’s said.
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Parents who fail to send their children to school will face fines.
Officials from SAGE have previously warned that the closure of schools may affect some kids for life.
In a report, they said: “A cohort of children have experienced a shock to their education which will persist and affect their education and work outcomes for the rest of their lives.”
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