Education Select Committe grills Williamson on Covid-19 issues
On Wednesday, the House of Commons education select committee held the second session of its inquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services. At this virtual meeting, the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, gave evidence.
Robert Halfon MP, the chair of the education committee, opened the meeting by noting three of the main issues produced by current school closures: the wave of educational poverty, safeguarding issues, and the digital divide which could exacerbate the disadvantage gap.
It is promising to see the education committee discussing these challenges, and their longer term impact on vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Last week, Schools North East announced its policy focus on these challenges, and the importance of supporting schools and teachers as they take on new responsibilities. It is vital that these conversations are had, and that the particular impact of COVID-19 in the North East is not forgotten.
In response, Gavin Williamson said that the Department for Education was looking into how to address these issues, working with the EEF to ensure targeted support and interventions would be provided, whether this be for disadvantaged children, or those in years 10 and 12 who will be preparing for exams next year.
While the education secretary discussed the importance of the Oak National Academy and the provision of free laptops to disadvantaged children in addressing the learning loss, he did not go into detail on what further plans were in place. He did not comment on suggestions by Robert Halfon for a catch-up premium for disadvantaged children.
On the provision of free laptops and tablets, the education secretary expected the first laptops to arrive by the end of May, with around 200,000 to be delivered. While this will leave many disadvantaged children without access to education resources for several months, Gavin Williamson mentioned that this provision was not just to deal with the period of school closures, but also to help children over the summer and into the next academic year.
A key announcement made by the education secretary was that when schools reopen, this would be done in phases according to advice from SAGE, the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies.
The education secretary was also asked about what the Department for Education could learn from the crisis. He answered that the department was learning how to support vulnerable children when they are away from school (such as during holidays), that resources could be shared rapidly which could in future help reduce teacher workload, and how other procedures such as processing EHC plans can effectively be managed online.