Ministers from the Department of Education took questions from MPs in the House of Commons this week.
Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and North East MP, Bridget Phillipson asked about Randstad’s delivery of the national tutoring programme (NTP). The Secretary of State, Nadhim Zahawi, referred to figures released last week that showed the NTP had hit 1 million blocks of tutoring. He added that it was important to ensure the NTP opportunities are ‘available for every child, especially those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.’
In response, Bridget Phillipson said that we are seeing major failures in the NTP, and that the minister was showing staggering complacency. She said that it should have been a ‘ national mission to support all our children to recover the learning and experiences they have lost in that time.’ Nadhim Zahawi said that it is right for every child to get a tutoring opportunity, and that 2 million tutoring blocks will be delivered by the end of this year, and eventually going beyond that to reach 6 million children.
Despite these assurances from the Secretary of State, ministers have ditched a condition that catch-up mentors must be graduates and will now allow larger tutoring groups. Additionally, NTP targets to support disadvantaged students have been dropped, with providers no longer required to ensure that 65 percent of their tuition support is provided to pupils receiving the pupil premium. Last week, the Education Select Committee published a report on the catch-up programme, criticising the NTP for failing to meet its targets and the lack of transparency in date releases.
Chair of the select committee, Robert Halfon MP, asked about education recovery. He said that the covid inquiry terms of reference only make a ‘tiny mention of education’, and called on the Secretary of State to write to the inquiry to ‘make sure that education and children are properly reflected, looking at the mental health problems and lost educational attainment of children during lockdown.’ Nadhim Zahawi responded, saying that the terms of reference of the inquiry are extremely broad, with areas of potential relevance for education. However, the only direct reference to education is how restrictions impacted attendance.
Jarrow MP, and member of the education committee, Kate Osborne also questioned education ministers. She asked what steps the department is taking to help ensure that there are adequate numbers of specialist teachers to support children with SEND, mentioning research from the Education Policy Institute that found that children from the most disadvantaged areas are less likely to be identified as having SEND than children from more affluent areas.
Will Quince MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, responded. He said that the reformed initial teacher training and new early career frameworks would equip teachers with a clear understanding of the needs of children with SEND. He argued that all teachers are teachers of SEND, and that as part of the SEND review the department would be working to ensure teachers are equipped to teach and identify special educational needs.
In Schools North East’s recent roundtables with senior school leaders across the region, it was reported that Covid-related absences are declining and they are beginning a movement away from crisis management to a focus on the longer term impacts of the pandemic. Schools have seen a growth in persistent absences, with some students struggling with the return to school and socialising. Schools are facing significant difficulties in meeting the growing needs of students. The long awaited SEND review, due to be published this month, must address both the perennial challenges in the SEND sector, as well as the growing issues resulting from the effects of the pandemic.
