Education

Children and young people across Redbridge got creative as part of a competition expressing their life under coronavirus lockdown.

In an extraordinary year for schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, teachers and school staff have gone above and beyond to make sure they can do their best for children in difficult circumstances.

Students at an Ilford school beat pupils from 350 schools to win a national prize for designing an anti-bullying app.

Redbridge Council’s change in primary school admissions policy, where sibling priority is lost if the family move more than a mile away, has been partially upheld by the schools’ adjudicator.

Year 6 pupils at Barkingside’s Clore Tikva primary school have enjoyed a virtual graduation, complete with guest appearances from Lord Winston and Strictly Come Dancing’s Katya Jones.

The Redbridge Institute of Adult Education (IAE) has secured nearly £250,000 to help 500 residents to become confident English speakers.

Ilford North MP Wes Streeting joined Glade Primary School for a virtual assembly to promote internet safety.

The end of the school year is drawing near, but many parents and their children will be left without the normal opportunity to say goodbye to the teachers who have made such a big difference.

Autism charity The Sycamore Trust has joined forces with The London School of Management Education (LSME) in Gants Hill to launch an exciting project designed to help those with spectrum disorders into higher education.

School pupils joined a global Black Lives Matter discussion with apartheid activist Chris Lubbe.

Woodbridge High School will host the UK’s most experienced day camp provider, Camp Beaumont, later this month.

A 100-year-old Wanstead school which has seen generations of girls from the same family attending is closing.

Redbridge Council has laid out the safety measures being put in place to re-open all schools in September.

Study Plus Centre have quickly adapted to every crisis during the Covid-19 Pandemic including locking their doors ahead of the UK lockdown, swapping to online tuition, and have now opened their doors safely.

A school has been criticised for failing to deal with bullying after the death of a Year 10 student.

Nearly a fifth of Redbridge children missed out on gaining a place at their first-choice primary school, new figures show.

Academic associations across the country are calling on the government to support “a new deal for higher education” saying a temporary bailout isn’t enough to help them get through the pandemic and beyond.

Thousands of people in Redbridge have signed a petition calling for Britain’s colonial history to become part of the school curriculum.

Redbridge and District University of the Third Age is adapting to a digital way of life and encouraging more elderly people to get involved.

Education chiefs have urged the government to act so that poorer pupils don’t fall further behind over the summer.

No playdough, sandpits, or water games, but plenty of reassurance from staff and outdoor play in smaller groups, and no floor markings for children’s play areas or timed toilet breaks.

Staff at Seven Kings School are delivering almost 1,500 books to students as part of their Big Reading Push.

The leader of Redbridge Conservatives has said it’s “totally hypocritical” for the council leader to re-open a nursery he owns in Derby while advocating against opening some schools in Redbridge.

Despite the coronavirus lockdown a Clayhall primary school took a class trip to New York City - virtually - to learn one of their favourite songs from professional musicians.

With some students set to return to school next week Redbridge Council laid out safety measures for re-opening while some parents are calling for a boycott.

The leader of Redbridge Conservatives has criticised the council leader over his statement on schools reopening.

The Anderson School for autistic children, which is due to shut down this summer, has been rated as Inadequate by Ofsted.

Almost 600 anxious parents, teachers, school staff and politicians held a Zoom meeting to discuss whether it’s safe to send children back to Redbridge schools on June 1.

Pupils should not return to school this academic year.

Many Redbridge state school teachers do not want to return to work until the danger of coronavirus has passed.

When will it be safe for pupils to return to school?

Some parents and students of a school for autistic children which is closing down in July have launched a petition to give it one last chance.

Kids in Charge have stepped in to give local children a chance to escape the Covid-19 reality and have fun in a stimulating environment at club sites across Redbridge.

A school for autistic children where parents said staff ignored concerns about students’ education and safety is being shut down.

To help brighten a vulnerable Redbridge resident’s day a new campaign encourages children to send in drawings that will be delivered alongside parcels.

Seven Kings School is working hard to help aid hospitals and social care during the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 97 per cent of Redbridge primary age children have been offered a place at their chosen school.

While school is shut a Woodford Green teacher is doing his part to make up for PPE shortages by building visors for NHS staff using the school’s 3D printer.

The government has extended a voucher scheme to give children free school meals over Easter.

The headteacher of a Seven Kings primary school talks about the challenges facing teachers and children to get through the coronavirus pandemic.

Redbridge Council is thought to have stopped funding placements at a complaints-battered special school that costs more than Eton.

The Environment Agency is investigating a water course that runs near a special needs school in Redbridge amid fears that it could be contaminated.

A tutoring service in Goodmayes has overhauled its business to help students stuck at home.

Two Redbridge Catholic primary schools have put off deciding whether to become academies until after the coronavirus lockdown ends.