Minister announces plan to tackle school standards slip, as exams start

With school leaving exams starting on Thursday, schools minister Dennis Wiersma has announced a package of measures to boost skills in language, maths, citizenship and digital skills. ‘Standards must improve,’ Wiersma told MPs in a briefing outlining his immediate plans. This will require input from ‘everyone involved in the school infrastructure, from researchers to the makers of school books, libraries, parents and carers’ as well as teaching staff, he said. In April, school inspectors said urgent action was needed to...