Babak Belurs

Rabu, 26 Agustus 2020

Coronavirus: PM blames 'mutant algorithm' and tourism slumps - BBC News

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus outbreak this Wednesday evening. We'll have another update for you on Thursday morning.

1. 'Mutant algorithm' caused exam chaos, says PM

Prime Minister Boris Johnson blamed a "mutant algorithm" for this year's exam results chaos, as the most senior official in the Department for Education stood down. The department said Mr Johnson had concluded it needed "fresh official leadership". Visiting a school in Leicestershire, Mr Johnson told students "your grades were almost derailed by a mutant algorithm", prompting a union to accuse him of trying to "idly shrug away a disaster that his own government created".

2. Last-minute mask U-turn leaves teachers frustrated

Schools in Leicestershire return to class a week before the rest of England, meaning they had to adapt to a government decision to require face coverings in communal areas just hours before opening. Teachers said they received "little or no notice" while they were "busting a gut to get ready". Northern Ireland is also requiring pupils to wear masks from 31 August while Wales said it is up to schools and councils to decide. But why have there been so many political U-turns lately?

3. I will meet the bereaved, says Johnson

After a group of 1,600 families who have lost loved ones to coronavirus said they had asked five times for Boris Johnson to meet them, the prime minister said he was "not aware" of their letters. But he told Sky News: "Of course I will meet the bereaved." The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice warn they are preparing legal action if a statutory public inquiry is not called.

4. UK faces loss of £22bn tourism revenue

While many Britons have taken their holidays in the UK this year, a tourism industry body is warning that the absence of overseas visitors could mean losing £60m in revenue per day. Foreign tourists are "staying away in droves" because of the impact of the pandemic on the UK, the World Travel & Tourism Council said. It comes as an international economic think tank reported that the UK was the hardest hit among major economies by coronavirus, ahead of Spain.

5. Some restaurants extend Eat Out to Help Out

The government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme ends on 31 August, but some restaurants have decided to entice more customers back in September by funding the discount - 50% off up to a maximum of £10 - themselves. Click here for a list of some of those who have confirmed so far. Research suggests that only 27% of UK consumers feel comfortable eating in a restaurant at the moment, and only 23% are happy going to a bar or pub.

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And don't forget...

...if you need to get up to speed on the new rules over face coverings in schools, take a look at our guide.

Find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

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2020-08-26 16:46:02Z
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Face masks in schools: Wales recommends coverings in secondaries - Sky News

The Welsh government has recommended the use of face coverings in communal areas of secondary schools where social distancing is not possible.

The new guidance also applies to pupils over 11 on school transport, along with college students and staff.

It will require schools and local authorities to carry out risk assessments of their sites to determine if the two-metre rule cannot be maintained.

A joint statement by health minister Vaughan Gething and education minister Kirsty Williams said: "The current advice from the Chief Medical Officer for Wales is that face coverings are recommended for all members of the public over 11 years in indoor settings in which social distancing cannot be maintained, including schools and school transport.

"We will amend our operational guidance for schools and FE to require settings and local authorities to undertake risk assessments of their estates to determine if face coverings should be recommended for their staff and young people in communal areas.

"This will also include school and college transport."

Mr Gething had asked a scientific advisory group to consider the current coronavirus guidance for the nation's schools, which are due to return next week.

That came hours before Boris Johnson reversed advice that pupils should not wear face masks in English secondaries, amid growing pressure from headteachers, teaching unions and medical experts.

Meanwhile, a teaching union questioned if the UK government was following scientific advice or "prioritising political expediency" following the U-turn.

Union chiefs had previously urged clarity on wearing masks and sought reassurance for pupils, staff and parents ahead of schools reopening next week.

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Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said: "It is deeply regrettable that the government has failed to heed concerns until the last possible moment.

"The latest announcement on face coverings raises serious questions about whether the government is seriously following the scientific advice or is simply prioritising political expediency in order to meet the prime minister's wish to ensure that every school reopens fully at the start of term come what may.

Gavin Williamson is at the centre of another U-turn — Minister defends U-turn on masks advice

"This latest government U-turn will raise questions about the statement issued by the UK's chief medical officers last Sunday that there is a low risk of coronavirus transmission in schools."

The chief and deputy chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said in a joint statement on Sunday that children have an "exceptionally low risk of dying" from COVID-19.

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2020-08-26 15:16:21Z
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A-levels and GCSEs: Boris Johnson blames 'mutant algorithm' for exam fiasco - BBC News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has blamed a "mutant algorithm" for this summer's exam results fiasco.

"I am afraid your grades were almost derailed by a mutant algorithm and I know how stressful that must have been," Mr Johnson told pupils at a school in Leicestershire.

Replacement grades caused chaos and required changes to some results.

In the fall-out from the exam problems, the Department for Education's permanent secretary has stepped down.

The National Education Union called Mr Johnson's comments "brazen" and accused the prime minister of trying to "idly shrug away a disaster that his own government created".

Mr Johnson had been empathising with the problems of young people during the pandemic - including the "mutant algorithm" for exam grades.

"I'm very, very glad that it has finally been sorted out," he told pupils.

The prime minister said education was the "great liberator" and the biggest risk for young people was not Covid-19 - it was "continuing to be out of school".

A statement on the departure of the Department for Education's permanent secretary, Jonathan Slater, said "the prime minister has concluded that there is a need for fresh official leadership" at the department.

The role as the department's most senior civil servant will be taken on in an interim basis by Susan Acland-Hood.

This follows the stepping down of Sally Collier as head of the Ofqual exam watchdog for England.

Both departures followed the high-profile problems caused by replacement grades for A-levels, GCSEs and vocational qualifications for exams cancelled in the pandemic.

This focused on an "algorithm" which was accused of producing unfair results - which after a U-turn was replaced by teachers' estimated grades.

Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said: "It is abundantly clear that things have not gone well at the Department for Education and Ofqual, culminating in the debacle over this year's GCSE and A-level grades.

"But it is pretty unsavoury that civil servants appear to be carrying the can while ministers remain unscathed."

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2020-08-26 15:05:52Z
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