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A headteacher is bidding to keep his pupils in for the summer. Rod Grant, who leads Clifton Hall, one of Scotland’s most renowned independent schools, wants to revamp the “antiquated” calendar he and his staff have been using, in an effort to boost learning. His plan, which is set to go out for consultation, would see the year broken down into seven phases, with no holiday period longer than five weeks or shorter than two. As well as capping the length of a term at seven weeks, the change would bring about the end of the long summer break and create five additional teaching days. ....
Primary education: pupils arriving at Manor Park School and Nursery in Knutsford, Cheshire Credit: Martin Rickett/PA A year ago, Cara was a happy go lucky teenager. Today, her mother tells me, she’s a different child. She has severe and debilitating nervous tics - Tourette’s - a condition that her paediatrician confirms was brought on by the emotional strains of lockdown. Cara will need help in managing this condition for the rest of her life. Cara’s case is extreme but it is not isolated. Up and down the country children are being harmed by social isolation and school closures in ways that in some cases will leave deep and lasting scars. During the last lockdown some of us were speaking of the disproportionate impact of school closures on young people. Now that data from the first lockdown is emerging, far from “catastrophising”, that language looks if anything too weak; “devastating” is - sadly - becoming a commonly used word; Rob Halfon , ....
Young people have to be taught that dealing with despair and disappointment is part of being human. By predicting that every setback will cause long-term damage, we are likely to cause psychological problems, not solve them. ....
THE HEADTEACHER of an independent school on the outskirts of Edinburgh has launched a furious attack on government after Nicola Sturgeon announced… ....