Select committee: Education Committee
Conclusion 1
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purpose?
Published 10 Mar 2022
Paragraph 18
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee The Government’s Catch-up programme All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
There is no doubt that school closures have had a devasting effect on children’s education. One 2020 study found that children locked down at home in the UK spent an average of only 2.5 hours each day doing schoolwork, and one fifth of pupils did no schoolwork at home, or less than one hour a day. Primary-aged pupils had lost 0.9 months learning in reading and 2.2 months in mathematics by the summer of 2020/21, and secondary-aged pupils had experienced a learning loss of around 1.2 months in reading. School closures have also impacted on children’s mental health, with 1 in 6 children having a probable mental health condition in 2020, up from 1 in 9 in 2017. We believe that school closures have been nothing short of a national disaster for children.
From: Education Committee, Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purpose? (HC 940), paragraph 18, 10 March 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 May 2022 (deadline 10 May 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it "agrees with the overarching ambition of the report" and that it accepts "most of the recommendations", while not fully accepting or only partially accepting others because existing or planned policies will support its vision.
- On tutoring, it will not extend Randstad's contract beyond its initial term, which "expires on 31 August 2022", and will reprocure delivery partners. All tutoring funding will go directly to schools next year.
- On a national register of children not in school, it reaffirms its commitment to local authority registers and says "We hope to legislate for this at the next suitable opportunity."
- On a mental health assessment for all pupils, it states "we do not believe that it is practical, nor necessary, for every child to undergo a clinical assessment of their mental health and wellbeing."
- On the school day, it will introduce a minimum expectation of a 32.5 hour week in state-funded mainstream schools, which it expects schools to work towards "as soon as possible and by September 2023 at the latest".