Select committee: Education Committee
Conclusion 3
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purpose?
Published 10 Mar 2022
Paragraph 24
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)
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.
From: Education Committee, Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purpose? (HC 940), paragraph 24, 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".