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Northern MPs call for ‘catch up’ fund for disadvantaged pupils

Earlier this week the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, supported by parliamentarians from across the north, called on the Secretary of State for Education to support a ‘catch-up premium of at least £300m across England’, equating to at least £700 for each pupil on FSM. This echoes Schools North East’s call for policy makers and government to begin to look, as a matter of urgency, at the long term impact of the pandemic, especially on the most deprived areas of the country.

The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse’s intervention is to address the consequences of school closures on the most vulnerable children. These funds would provide ‘timely interventions which would require around 30 minutes of tuition, three to five times a week over a six- to 12-week period.’

The letter to Gavin Williamson draws attention to the disadvantage gap, and the concentration of long-term disadvantaged children in the North of England. The letter notes that the current shutdown will widen the North’s disadvantage gap, as children from low-income households are the most vulnerable to the crisis.

Ten of the 29 MPs in the North East have signed the letter, representing both the main political parties, including Gateshead MP Ian Mearns who sits on the House of Commons education select committee. The chair of the education select committee, Robert Halfon MP, has also called on the government to support a catch-up premium.

It is welcome to see initiatives that recognise the problems of long-term disadvantage, and provide extra support for those parts of the country, such as the North East, that will face greater challenges as a result of the coronavirus.

It is important to remember that, as the letter notes, the coronavirus threatens to exacerbate a pre-existing gap between disadvantaged children and their peers, a gap that has a larger impact in the North East due to the higher concentrations of these vulnerable pupils. 

In our Manifesto for North East education Schools North East calls on policy makers to think in the long-term, and targeted initiatives like this must be built into longer-term policy thinking that addresses the impact of disadvantage on student progress and school outcomes.

The full letter and list of signatories can be found here.

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