‘THE implications for children’s life chances can’t be allowed to continue,’ said the National Education Union (NEU) on Wednesday, commenting on the Public Accounts Committee report warning of a ‘lost generation in education’.
Kevin Courtney, NEU Joint General Secretary, said: ‘This new report spells out the worrying trends that schools have been seeing since the pandemic.
‘The growing attainment gap with all its implications for children’s life chances can’t be allowed to continue and the government must take immediate action.
‘The government is in denial both about the scale of the problems and the depth of change that our learners need. Disgracefully it ignored the report of Sir Kevan Collins, its own recovery Czar.
‘The government’s response to education recovery has focussed on academic catch up. The provision offered through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) was never adequately and appropriately funded.
‘It has so far provided less than a third of the money its own advisor called for and have provided little for the mental health and emotional impacts of the pandemic.
‘The growing problem of attendance in part reflects the perception of many students that their needs are not being met by the current system.
‘The government must ensure that funding for the NTP is adequate and long-term, invest in educators to stem the recruitment and retention crisis, and provide more support for mental health.
‘It must address our out of date system of curriculum and assessment and move much more speedily to implement a well-founded plan for SEND and Alternative Provision.’
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, also responded to the Public Accounts Committee’s warnings that the prospects of a generation could be damaged without greater focused and concerted action from the government to address attainment and attendance gaps among pupils post-pandemic
Roach said: ‘We warned that the government’s catch-up plans were wholly inadequate to deal with the profound challenges experienced by children and young people as a result of the pandemic.
‘It is now abundantly clear that government policy is failing to deliver for a generation of children and young people.
‘The government has failed to deliver the levels of investment, infrastructure and support that schools need to secure an effective post-pandemic education recovery.
‘Schools and wider children’s services are continuing to endure real terms cuts at a time when the government is presiding over real terms cuts to vital services.
‘Whilst schools are trying their best, a lack of investment is also leading to teachers and headteachers leaving the profession prematurely due to unsustainable workload pressures.
‘A fully-funded national recovery plan for children and young people must be a priority for any government that cares about children’s futures.’
In its report published on Wednesday the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expresses alarm that it may take a decade for the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and others to return to pre-pandemic levels.
The report notes:
- The prospects for a generation of children could be damaged without faster action from the government.
- One in eight schools did not take up the National Tutoring Programme recovery scheme in 2021/22.
- Pupil absences were higher than pre-pandemic, particularly among disadvantaged pupils.
The PAC press statement said: ‘Years of progress since 2012 to narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and others had been reversed by 2022, according to Key Stage test results, and the government expects it may take another ten years to return this gap to the level at which it was before the pandemic.
‘A key plank of the government’s education recovery programme, the National Tutoring Programme, was not taken up by 13% of schools in England, with pupils at these schools missing out on the benefits of subsidised tutoring.
‘The government must do more to understand and improve these disappointing results, with the Committee further warning that schools may not be able to afford to provide tutoring once the Department for Education (DfE) reduces its subsidy rates.
‘The Committee calls on the DfE to take targeted action to reduce absence rates among disadvantaged pupils in addition to ongoing work to improve attendance.
‘Absence across the board is higher than before the pandemic, but also remains highest for disadvantaged pupils.
‘After multiple delays and much pushing, the DfE’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) improvement plan has been published – but the timetable stretches beyond 2025 while the children affected continue to make their way through the school system.
‘The Committee expects the DfE to get on with the necessary improvements as quickly as possible, making clear the respective responsibilities and accountabilities of the education and health systems.’
The report’s summary states: ‘Without the Department for Education taking faster and more effective recovery action, the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic will be with us for a long time, damaging the prospects of a generation of children and entrenching disadvantage.
‘The disruption to schooling was one of the most serious consequences of the pandemic, leading to lost learning for many pupils.
‘Disadvantaged pupils suffered most, wiping out a decade of progress in reducing the gap in attainment between them and their peers.’
The PAC continued: ‘We are alarmed that the Department believes it could take a decade more to return the disadvantage gap to pre-pandemic levels.
‘A key plank of the Department’s recovery programme for schools in England is the National Tutoring Programme.
‘While the Department met its target to provide nearly two million tutoring courses in the 2021/22 school year, 13% of schools – one in eight – did not take part at all in the National Tutoring Programme, meaning their pupils missed out on the opportunity of subsidised tuition.
‘The Department must do more to increase participation to make sure that all pupils get the support they need.
‘Looking ahead, the Department plans to sharply reduce its subsidy for tutoring in 2023/24 and withdraw it completely in 2024/25.
‘There is a risk that, without this central subsidy, the National Tutoring Programme will wither on the vine.
‘We are not convinced that the Department fully appreciates the pressures schools are under as they seek to help pupils catch up.
‘Among other things, we heard evidence of funding constraints, challenges recruiting and retaining teaching staff, and growing mental health needs among pupils.
‘The Department must do all it can to support schools with these wider challenges if education recovery is to be achieved.
‘After further delays and much pushing, the Department finally published its improvement plan for special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision in March 2023. The timetable for implementing the planned changes stretches into 2025 and beyond.
‘Meanwhile the children affected continue to make their way through the school system, many of them without the support they need.
‘We look to the Department to get on with making the necessary improvements as quickly as possible, making clear the respective responsibilities and accountabilities of the education and health systems.
‘We intend to continue to keep a close eye on its progress in doing so.’