Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Fourth Report - Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purpose?
Education Committee
HC 940
Published 10 March 2022
Recommendations
8
The Department must take steps to address the issue of persistent absence and ensure no...
Recommendation
The Department must take steps to address the issue of persistent absence and ensure no more children become ‘ghost children’. We welcome the Department’s formation of an ‘attendance alliance’ and its consultation on reducing avoidable absence in schools, however these …
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Department for Education
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20
The Government should introduce a levy on the profits of social media companies, and use...
Recommendation
The Government should introduce a levy on the profits of social media companies, and use the revenue derived from this to fund online harms and resilience training for pupils which could be distributed through schools. (Paragraph 78) Is the Catch-up …
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Department for Education
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Conclusions (18)
1
Conclusion
Para 18
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 …
2
Conclusion
The Department must continue to establish the full effect of the pandemic on children and young people. This must consider the impacts felt by children from disadvantaged backgrounds and on the regional disparities of support offered. This must not be confined to solely academic factors but should also focus on …
3
Conclusion
Para 24
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 …
4
Conclusion
We welcome the funding the Government has already committed to help pupils catch up, but we believe the existing funding arrangements for catch-up amount to a spaghetti junction of funding, piling more work on teachers and support staff who have needed to navigate multiple funding processes to access different streams …
5
Conclusion
Teachers and school staff know their pupils and know what interventions are likely to bring the most benefit. The Catch-up Programme to date has been fragmented, and a complex bureaucratic system for applications may have hampered some schools’ ability to access some elements of the Government’s support as effectively as …
6
Conclusion
Para 33
The impact of school closures and the pandemic has resulted in a reversal of the progress made in narrowing the attainment gap, with children in the North disproportionately affected. It is also alarming that children and young people in the North, particularly the North-East and Yorkshire and the Humber, have …
7
Conclusion
Para 38
Rates of persistent absence remain concerning, and the number of ‘ghost children’ who are experiencing severe levels of absence from school remains far too high. The Government needs to do much more to get these children back in school, which is the best place to ensure they will be safe …
9
Conclusion
Para 56
It is not clear that the National Tutoring Programme will deliver for the pupils that need it most. We expect full transparency about the operation of the National Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purposee 31 Tutoring Programme, including information on how many pupils are benefitting from the programme, and …
10
Conclusion
Para 57
The Department must commit to publishing statistics on a half-termly basis on the number of starts under the National Tutoring Programme with a greater degree of granularity. This must include information on the proportion of children accessing the programme on a regional basis, and the data should be published in …
11
Conclusion
Para 58
Currently it appears that the school-led tutoring pillar is more attractive than tuition partners or academic mentors (with 230,000 starts as of 1 December, compared to 52,000 and 20,000 respectively), although we have heard concerns about the quality assurance underpinning that part of the programme. The Department should ensure that …
12
Conclusion
Para 59
We heard that the Department’s plans to taper the subsidies for the National Tutoring Programme are a “real concern”, which may inhibit school take up in some of the most disadvantaged areas. Therefore, to ensure that it does not unfairly prevent schools in more disadvantaged areas from taking up the …
13
Conclusion
The Department should commit to undertaking a review of the impact that Covid-19 has had on children with special educational needs and disabilities. (Paragraph 60) Mental health resilience and an extended school day
14
Conclusion
We are conscious that any extension to the school day would need to be carefully balanced so that staff workload and pupils’ energy are not negatively impacted. However, we are also persuaded that there is merit in extending opportunities for additional time spent on extra-curricular activities, including exercise and creative …
15
Conclusion
Para 68
The Department must introduce a pilot of optional extra-curricular activities for children to help improve academic attainment and wellbeing. The pilot should be trialled in areas of disadvantage across the country. If this pilot proves effective, the Department should include the necessary funding to support a wider provision in the …
16
Conclusion
Para 69
There are some examples of positive collaboration between local private and state schools in terms of offering the use of sports centres or theatres to support enrichment activities which should be further encouraged. Primary and secondary state schools should also be encouraged to utilise local youth centres, local community groups …
17
Conclusion
Para 75
Before the pandemic there were serious concerns about the mental health of our children and young people. The pandemic has exacerbated an existing crisis in mental health, with as many as 1 in 6 children aged 6–16 years old now suffering from a probable mental health condition. It is vital …
18
Conclusion
Para 76
The Department must fast-track its commitments to ensuring all schools have a designated mental health lead. All catch-up plans, including enrichment activities and longer school days, must include a specific role for activities that focus on mental health and wellbeing.
19
Conclusion
Para 77
Throughout our inquiry, we have heard that pupils’ wellbeing and mental health have been one of the greatest challenges as schools return. All pupils should undergo a mental health and wellbeing assessment to understand the scale of the problem and schools may wish to direct some of the recovery funding …