Recommendations & Conclusions
34 items
2
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
Only a small minority of vulnerable children attended school in the early stages of the pandemic, increasing the risk of hidden harm. The Department acknowledges that the pandemic presented real safeguarding challenges. It kept schools open for vulnerable children—for example, those with a social worker or an education, health and …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2022 2.2 The department continues to work with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and local authorities (LAs) to collect, interpret and report data on referrals …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The disruption to schooling had a particularly detrimental impact on children with special educational needs and disabilities, in terms of both their education and their health. In spring 2020, the Department temporarily changed aspects of the law on EHC needs assessments and plans. While this reduced pressure on schools and …
Government response. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 As part of the department’s 2020-21 recovery plan, it is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health …
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department has no vision for building on the investment it has made in IT equipment for vulnerable and disadvantaged children. In the early stages of the pandemic, the Department initially considered trying to provide 602,000 laptops and tablets, and 100,000 4G routers, to priority groups of children. It scaled …
Government response. 4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government has invested over £400 million in devices, internet access and training to support access to remote education and online social care services for disadvantaged children and young people. This …
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department has not set out how it will judge the effectiveness of the catch- up programme in making up for the learning children lost as a result of the disruption to schooling. The disruption has adversely affected children’s learning and development, with the learning loss greatest among disadvantaged children. …
Government response. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 5.2 The government’s education recovery strategy aims to reduce year on year lost learning due to COVID-19. The department is currently developing metrics to monitor this and …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The success of the National Tutoring Programme will depend on the quality of provision and whether it reaches the disadvantaged children who need it most. Previous evaluations by the Education Endowment Foundation indicate that tutoring programmes are effective in supporting children’s learning. However, the Department recognises that the tutoring market …
Government response. 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: July 2022 6.2 The department is increasing access to high-quality tuition based on evidence that shows tuition can boost catch up learning by up to five months. 6.3 The …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Education (the Department) on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring and summer 2020, and on how it is supporting children to catch up on the learning lost while normal …
Government response. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on 23 March 2021 from the Department for Education (the Department) on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring and summer 2020, and on how it …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We asked the Department when it expected to conduct a lessons-learned exercise. It highlighted that the pandemic had often required it to take action collectively with other organisations as it could not respond unilaterally to what was a health situation. It said that any such exercise should therefore be carried …
Government response. 1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2022 1.2 The Department for Education’s (the department) approach will be to take forward the Committee’s recommendation in a way that is consistent and collaborative with other pieces …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department recognised that continued school attendance was an important way of safeguarding and supporting vulnerable children while schools were closed to most pupils. However, the proportion of children defined as in need under the Children Act 1989, or with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, who attended school …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2022 2.2 The department continues to work with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and local authorities (LAs) to collect, interpret and report data on referrals …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department explained that people had been extremely anxious in the early months of the pandemic and had taken the “stay at home” message seriously, and it had therefore been a challenge to persuade them to send their children to school.12 It said that it had begun to gather information …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We asked the Department whether its definition of ‘vulnerable children’ remained relevant in light of the pandemic. The Department explained that two elements of the definition that it used to decide who could access a school place—children with a social worker or an EHC plan—were fixed. But the definition also …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2022 2.2 The department continues to work with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and local authorities (LAs) to collect, interpret and report data on referrals …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The number of referrals to children’s social care services, during the weeks surveyed between 27 April and 16 August 2020, was around 15% lower than the average for the same period over the previous three years.17 In its written evidence, the NSPCC told us that, under normal circumstances, universal services …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2022 2.2 The department continues to work with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and local authorities (LAs) to collect, interpret and report data on referrals …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department told us that there had not been the spike in referrals to children’s social care services which many people had expected when schools fully re-opened in September 2020, and that referrals were still around 10% below normal levels year-on- year.19 It explained that this raised concern about the …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: January 2022 2.2 The department continues to work with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and local authorities (LAs) to collect, interpret and report data on referrals …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The NSPCC also emphasised that school environments were crucial for the educational and social development of children, acting as places of support for their mental health.21 The Department highlighted that it had put in place a number of sources of support for children’s mental health during the lockdown period, and …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
On 1 May 2020, the Department temporarily changed aspects of the law on EHC needs assessments and plans, to give local authorities, health commissioning bodies, education providers and other bodies more flexibility in the context of the pandemic. These changes temporarily removed the requirement to complete assessments and plans within …
Government response. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 As part of the department’s 2020-21 recovery plan, it is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who had an EHC plan were eligible to continue attending school throughout the pandemic, provided a risk assessment had determined that they would be at least as safe in school as at home.26 However, SENSE told us that the guidance on how …
Government response. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 As part of the department’s 2020-21 recovery plan, it is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We asked the Department why some schools had felt unable to offer places to children with EHC plans. It told us that the situation changed over the course of the pandemic – for example, attendance of children with EHC plans grew from about 5% in March 2020 to 27% by …
Government response. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 As part of the department’s 2020-21 recovery plan, it is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
Written evidence we received made it clear that some children with SEND struggled to learn remotely. SENSE told us that home learning resources were not always appropriate or tailored to the needs of children with complex disabilities, and that many children were left without the specialist equipment they needed, making …
Government response. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 As part of the department’s 2020-21 recovery plan, it is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We asked the Department what actions it had taken to help children with SEND to learn from home. It told us that it recognised many children with SEND faced real difficulties in learning remotely. As examples of actions it had taken, it highlighted: the SEND-specific provision offered by Oak National …
Government response. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 As part of the department’s 2020-21 recovery plan, it is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We asked the Department whether it was evaluating the impact of not being able to attend school on the health of children with SEND. In subsequent written evidence, it told us that it would continue to assess the impact of the pandemic and its COVID-19 recovery plans on all pupils, …
Government response. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 3.2 As part of the department’s 2020-21 recovery plan, it is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department recognised that a lack of IT equipment was likely to hamper the ability of vulnerable and disadvantaged children to learn remotely and access online social care services. It initially considered providing 602,000 laptops or tablets and 100,000 4G routers for vulnerable children and those in all priority groups …
Government response. 4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government has invested over £400 million in devices, internet access and training to support access to remote education and online social care services for disadvantaged children and young people. This …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department continued to distribute IT equipment during the 2020/21 school year, focusing on disadvantaged children whose schooling had been disrupted or who had been advised to shield for medical reasons.38 The Department told us that by spring 2021 it had distributed nearly 1.3 million devices and that orders were …
Government response. 4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government has invested over £400 million in devices, internet access and training to support access to remote education and online social care services for disadvantaged children and young people. This …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
In their written evidence, the National Association of Head Teachers and The Children’s Society told us that the limited scope of the Department’s provision in the spring and summer of 2020 meant that many children did not have the devices or internet access they needed.41 The Department told us that …
Government response. 4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government has invested over £400 million in devices, internet access and training to support access to remote education and online social care services for disadvantaged children and young people. This …
HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We asked the Department about its plan for remote learning in the future since the laptops that had been distributed would need replacing in due course. The Department told us that the pandemic had shown that there was an appetite for support from the Department. It aimed to provide guidance …
Government response. 4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government has invested over £400 million in devices, internet access and training to support access to remote education and online social care services for disadvantaged children and young people. This …
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department clarified that schools or local authorities owned the devices that had been supplied. They would need to decide how to deal with obsolescence and maintain the provision of up-to-date equipment for pupils, using their core budgets.44 42 Q 60 43 Qq 61–62 44 Qq 64–66 14 COVID-19: Support …
Government response. 4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government has invested over £400 million in devices, internet access and training to support access to remote education and online social care services for disadvantaged children and young people. This …
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We received written evidence from a number of research bodies indicating that disadvantaged children had suffered most as a result of the disruption to schooling. A survey by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that, on average, students from disadvantaged backgrounds spent less time on remote learning and were less …
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
Evidence from the National Foundation for Educational Research, based on estimates by teachers in July 2020, indicated that on average the learning gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers had increased by 46%. Teachers in the most deprived schools were also over three times more likely to report that their …
HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We challenged the Department on why it had not set basic expectations for schools’ provision during the 2019/20 summer term. It highlighted that the circumstances had been unprecedented, and that schools had been asked to work in entirely new ways, remaining open to vulnerable children and children of critical workers …
HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
In June 2020, to help make up for the learning that children had lost during the disruption to schooling, the Department announced £1 billion of funding for a catch- up learning programme. The programme includes a £650 million universal catch-up premium allocated to schools on a per-pupil basis, and a …
HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department told us that it was determined that the catch-up learning programme should address the widening attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers. For example, it explained that its focus for the ‘academic mentors’ scheme was on schools with a high number of pupils eligible for free school …
HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
We asked the Department how it would know that the catch-up programme was working. It said that evaluation would be a central part of the development of the NTP, and that success would be achieved if the schemes reached large numbers of children who would benefit from tutoring and if …
HM Treasury
31
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department told us that past evaluations by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) had shown that tutoring programmes could help children make between three and five months’ progress in their learning.54 The Department has provided £80 million for the NTP tuition partners scheme in 2020/21. The scheme is aimed at …
HM Treasury
32
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
The Department said that tutoring had the potential to be an important and lasting part of the educational landscape.56 However, it acknowledged that the tutoring market was developing, and that securing enough tutors and developing the workforce was a challenge for providers.57 It accepted that it was difficult to get …
HM Treasury
33
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
Although the tuition partners scheme is intended to support disadvantaged children, the Department has not specified what proportion of children accessing the scheme should be eligible for pupil premium. At February 2021, just 44% of children receiving tuition were eligible for pupil premium funding, raising questions over whether the scheme …
HM Treasury
34
Conclusion
Third Report - COVID-19: Support for ch…
Alongside the NTP tuition partners scheme, the Department is funding an academic mentors scheme led by Teach First, which aims to place between 1,000 and 1,200 mentors in disadvantaged schools in the 2020/21 school year. However, at February 2021, more than 600 schools who had requested a mentor had not …
HM Treasury