Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Paragraph: 24
Stakeholders have expressed concerns over the sufficiency of the Government’s investment in the Catch-up Programme.
Conclusion
Stakeholders have expressed concerns over the sufficiency of the Government’s investment in the Catch-up Programme. The Department’s own annual report from 2020/21 rated the risk of its measures to address lost learning being insufficient as “critical/very likely”. The sector needs assurance of ongoing support to address the challenges of the pandemic and the long-term impact on children and young people. The education recovery programme is needed for the long-term, not for just two or three years.
Paragraph Reference:
24
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3. The Government welcomes the ESC’s continued interest in the Government’s programme to support pupils to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have considered the findings and recommendations of the report carefully. 4. The Government recognises the Committee’s concerns about the impact of the pandemic on children and young people’s academic progress and the need to ensure pupils recover that learning. We know that the pandemic has caused considerable disruption to the education of our nation’s children and young people, with disadvantaged pupils even further behind than their peers, particularly in areas of high deprivation. 5. As a priority, we have taken action to understand the impact of the pandemic on children and young people at each stage of their education. Evidence shows that recovery is taking place: on average, primary pupils have recovered around two thirds of progress lost since Spring 2021 due to the pandemic in reading, and around half of progress lost in maths. But we know that there is still more to do. Research, which includes pupils in Year 4–9, shows that secondary school pupils in Key Stage 3 are on average around 2.4 months behind in reading, having seen further losses since the Summer, and children with SEN and their families have also been particularly impacted. 6. To support children and young people to catch up on missed learning caused by the pandemic, we have committed almost £5bn for an ambitious and evidence based, multi-year education recovery plan. Our investment includes funding for up to 100 million tutoring hours for 5–19 year olds, extra time in 16–19 education, 500,000 training opportunities for school teachers and early year practitioners, as well as multi-year direct funding so schools can deliver evidence-based interventions based on pupil needs. 7. We have consistently targeted recovery funding where evidence tells us it will be most effective – on tutoring, teaching, as well as direct funding targeted at those that need it most. Our support is especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged, vulnerable and those with the least time left in education, wherever they live.