£700m ‘catch-up fund’ will benefit better-off pupils most

Pupils from better-off families are set to benefit most from the £700 million pound catch-up programme announced by the government. Education secretary Gavin Williamson laid out details of the fund at today’s (Tuesday) Downing Street briefing and stated that no pupil’s prospects should be “blighted by the pandemic”. Williamson confirmed that all schools in England […]

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‘Humanity at tipping point’ warns Attenborough at UN Security Council session chaired by PM

Sir David Attenborough issued a stark warning to world leaders that humanity’s future is at a tipping point in an historic address to the UN Security Council. The nonagenarian broadcaster and environmentalist said “climate change is the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced,” one that may “destroy entire cities” and “alter […]

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Johnson declares ‘the end is in sight’ while Sage says at least 32,000 more could die with Covid

Boris Johnson has laid out England’s exit from lockdown, declaring “the end is in sight” on the day the UK passed 129,498 deaths of people with Covid-19. The prime minister’s “cautious but also irreversible” road map out of lockdown is, he hopes, a “one way road to freedom” where even nightclubs could be open on […]

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High Court rules Hancock acted unlawfully over multibillion-pound Covid contracts

Health secretary Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by failing to publish details of multibillion-pound coronavirus contracts awarded by the government, a High Court judge has ruled. Mr Justice Chamberlain said Hancock had “breached his legal obligation” by failing to publish details of the contracts within 30 days, adding the public has a right to know where […]

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UK on track for record levels of child poverty, warns Children’s Commissioner, yet education secretary’s focus is a culture war

The Children’s Commissioner for England has used her final speech to excoriate the people employed and paid to educate, look after and protect the children of this country, while simultaneously condemning the silence around their collective failings. Anne Longfield, whose six year tenure ends this month, delivered a devastating final report on how far children […]

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