Ministers from the Department for Education took questions in the House of Commons on Monday, following on from the announcements the week before on school opening, exams, and catch-up funding.
Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green MP asked how DfE planned to narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. The Secretary of State, Gavin Williamson, responded that he was taking a targeted approach, such as on catch-up, pointing towards the appointment of Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner, who will be looking in detail at the actions that can be taken to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Chair of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon MP, then went on to ask about summer schools. He noted that in a previous DfE delivery of a programme of summer schools for disadvantaged students in 2013, only 50% of disadvantaged pupils who were invited actually attended. He also mentioned EEF research which identified particular difficulties with attendance in areas outside London. More broadly, Robert Halfon asked what specific measures the DfE were taking to ensure that the most disadvantaged benefit from the catch-up programmes, and the data used to measure this.
In response, Gavin Williamson said that Renaissance Learning had been commissioned to look at the evidence and ensure spending and outcomes are properly tracked. He emphasised that he did not want to see only children in London benefitting from catch-up programmes, and that ‘regional schools commissioners will be working closely with multi-academy trusts, individual schools and local authorities’.
While it is encouraging that DfE does recognise these regional differences, as well as the need for targeting disadvantaged students, their recovery plans so far have often lacked trust in the profession. Notably, there has been no clear long term planning, with schools having to constantly chop and change the plans and measures they have been putting in place to address disruption caused by the pandemic. It is a matter of urgency that the DfE now takes seriously not just the challenges of the pandemic, but the perennial issues (especially long-term disadvantage) that have been highlighted during lockdowns.
Several of the region’s MPs also asked questions. MP for South Shields Emma Lewell-Buck asked about school breakfast provision. Minister for Children and Families, Vicky Ford, agreed with Emma Lewell-Buck that a healthy and nutritious breakfast sets a child up for a learning day, and while the current programme will end in July, the Department are considering options for breakfast provision beyond that date.
Mary Glindon, MP for North Tyneside, asked about the ability of parents to carry out lateral flow covid-19 testing on their children to support the return of pupils to schools. While Gavin Williamson recognised the challenges, he argued that rapid testing will support the return to face-to-face education, and that the move to a home-testing model will only be rolled out once pupils have had three onsite tests.
Finally, Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery asked whether or not the DfE would implement the NEU’s education recovery plan. Schools Minister Nick Gibb said that the DfE is committed to working with schools and leaders to develop longer-term plans, and pointed towards the £700 million to support children and young people who need it most to catch up on lost education, on top of the £1 billion package launched last June.
Since December last year, Schools North East has been holding roundtables with the region’s MPs, to ensure that they are informed of the challenges schools are facing at the chalkface. So far 15 of the 29 North East MPs have attended, including Ian Lavery and Mary Glindon, resulting in letters written to various ministers and questions raised in the House of Commons.
