First published in I Newspaper, 9 September 2020:
Our country faces a potential epidemic of educational poverty. The UCL Institute of Education published a paper in June suggesting that approximately 2.3 million children did no schoolwork at home, or less than an hour a day, during the lockdown. Another study by the NFER found that 40 per cent of pupils were not in regular contact with their teachers.
Alongside the loss of learning, we know that the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their better-off peers is, at best, stalling and, at worst, widening. Recent studies from the Education Policy Institute showed that disadvantaged pupils are 18 months behind their classmates by the time they get to their GCSEs. Teach First’s latest report found that no progress has been made in closing the gap at GCSE-level in the last three years.
A senior official at the Department for Education warned that the Covid-19 pandemic could widen the attainment gap by as much as 75 per cent.
These education concerns come alongside increased mental health issues in children and a safeguarding crisis – all exacerbated by the lockdown
So, a number of things need to be done.
First, throughout September, schools across the country should conduct benchmarking assessments of their pupils in order to ascertain learning loss. Mental health professionals could be brought in to analyse the impact of the lockdown on children’s wellbeing.
This data should be collated in conjunction with the education regulatory bodies and fed through to the DfE, so that the Education Secretary is in a position to determine how much catch-up is needed and the resources required. It will also allow a decision to be made in October – to give teachers and students certainty – as to whether exams will take place or be delayed, whether the syllabus will be paired down. If there is a second lockdown, what is the Plan B? Will there be teacher-assessed grades with an independent assessor to act as a check and balance across the system?
Second, the £1 billion catch up fund is hugely welcome. We know that a typical primary school will receive an extra £16,000 and a secondary school will see £80,000 to support their pupils’ catch-up. We also know from the Education Endowment Foundation that regular, short sessions of tutoring over 12 weeks can advance a child’s progress by five months.
But this is a one-off fund. The Government should also take another look at the pupil premium, worth £2.41 billion in 2019/20, and assess whether or not this money is being spent effectively, or if more resources need to be diverted to spend on support for our most disadvantaged children.
Moreover, we should establish a national army of volunteers – composed of graduates, retired teachers and former Ofsted inspectors – to support the tutoring organisations, education charities and schools in offering catch-up sessions.
The Government currently spends around £100 million on Opportunity Areas, many of them in the north of England. Questions have been asked by our Committee – are they value for money and are the OAs all achieving good educational outcomes? Perhaps this funding would be better spent if it were diverted to the National Tutoring Programme to support left-behind pupils and focus on closing the attainment gap.
Finally, if the NHS can have a 10-year plan, surely education should too. The Prime Minister must set out a long-term plan for education, dealing with the fallout from Covid-19, combating social injustice – particularly to create a level playing field for children with special educational needs and disabilities – closing the attainment gap, addressing this nation’s skills deficit and preparing the next generation for the fourth industrial revolution.
Education must be as much a priority as health and the economy.
