Get the facts on education

5 October 2021

Claim that up to 135,000 children have not returned to school needs more context

Figures supposedly showing that between 95,000 and 135,000 children failed to return to school this term are based on a snapshot of just one day.

Claim that up to 135,000 children have not returned to school needs more context

7 September 2021

A survey of diversity in children’s books is flawed

A BBC News article said 10% of children’s books have an ethnic minority character, but this figure comes from flawed research.

A survey of diversity in children’s books is flawed

7 September 2021

Data doesn’t show parents will ‘insist’ on children wearing masks to school

A Mail Online article incorrectly claims ‘23% of parents of secondary pupils will insist their children wear masks’.

Data doesn’t show parents will ‘insist’ on children wearing masks to school

16 July 2021

Figure of 100,000 children missing from school is out of date

An Evening Standard article claims that almost 100,000 children have not returned to school since the start of the pandemic.

Figure of 100,000 children missing from school is out of date

14 July 2021

Nine in 10 girls did not say they’d been sent explicit images

Maria Miller is the latest person to misinterpret Ofsted’s survey on abuse in schools

Nine in 10 girls did not say they’d been sent explicit images

6 July 2021

Why school testing data doesn’t tell the whole story

Data is based on tests reported and so excludes the many tests taken but not reported.

Why school testing data doesn’t tell the whole story

30 June 2021

How common is sexual abuse in schools?

An Ofsted survey did not show that 90% of girls experienced it, although it does appear to be a common problem, from other evidence.

29 June 2021

Pandemic school attendance: fact checked

The Centre for Social Justice has described around 93,000 pupils as “severely absent” in the 2020 autumn term.

Pandemic school attendance: fact checked

3 June 2021

Telegraph columnist wrongly claims literacy at the lowest level in UK history

A Telegraph article was wrong to say literacy was at its lowest level in history, and that every international league table puts the UK near bottom for literacy and numeracy. …

Telegraph columnist wrongly claims literacy at the lowest level in UK history

15 January 2021

We don’t know whether teachers are more likely to catch Covid

Claims that infections among teachers are up to 333% above the average use incomparable datasets

We don’t know whether teachers are more likely to catch Covid

Education

Claim that up to 135,000 children have not returned to school needs more context

A survey of diversity in children’s books is flawed

Data doesn’t show parents will ‘insist’ on children wearing masks to school

Figure of 100,000 children missing from school is out of date

Nine in 10 girls did not say they’d been sent explicit images

Why school testing data doesn’t tell the whole story

How common is sexual abuse in schools?

Pandemic school attendance: fact checked

Telegraph columnist wrongly claims literacy at the lowest level in UK history

We don’t know whether teachers are more likely to catch Covid

Full Fact fights bad information