'Bold action needed so pupils can catch up on lost learning'

Help children overcome Covid impact on education and mental health, say parents

PARENTS have revealed the impact that the Covid crisis has had on their children’s education, and have criticised the government’s catch-up package for schools.

Some believe the shift to remote learning has led to their child falling behind, while in some areas of the UK, parents feel teachers have stepped up to help their son or daughter.

It comes after Sir Kevan Collins, the government’s education recovery tsar, resigned earlier this month after his proposed £15 billion proposal to help pupils make up for lost learning during the pandemic was slashed to £1.4bn.

Collins estimated that 200,000 children may have mental health conditions, a rise of 60 per cent on 2018 figures.

Kamran Uddin, a writer and mosque volunteer, told Eastern Eye: “I fear that my five-year-old son has lagged behind in school work during the past year.

“The breaks in school due to lockdown restrictions haven’t helped, and then on top of that, the extra half-term breaks delayed his progress further.

“While home schooling has been constructive, at times it has been a steep learning curve for me. I just have one son in primary school and he’s proved to be a handful at home; just imagine those parents with more kids.

“The government needs to be bolder in its plans to help a generation of children who have lost a year of their education.

“They need to provide more funding to schools and teachers and give them the resources they need in order to help children get back on track.”

The catch-up plan will include £1bn for 100 million hours of tutoring and £250 million for teacher training and development.

Tutoring, often in small groups, will be targeted at those considered most in need of support. But the Education Policy Institute (EPI) think tank, which warned that primary school pupils had lost up to two months of learning in reading and three months in maths, said the extra funding amounted to £50 per pupil per year, a 10th of what it estimated was needed.

Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson told Eastern Eye: “The government’s penny-pinching over the futures of children and young people is unforgiveable. Pupils have lost out on months of teaching, not to mention the social and emotional upheaval they have experienced in the past year.

“It is astonishing the government could put forward funding of just £310 per pupil over three years. This is woefully inadequate and a tiny fraction of what other countries are planning to spend.

“Young people deserve an ambitious, long-term plan where educational and emotional recovery go hand in hand.”

Ruhul Tarafder, a merchandising businessman in Kent, has two young sons.

He said: “There have been mixed messages from the government. One of my sons has a health issue and was shielding for nearly a year. He seems up to date with his reading and maths, [and] the school seems very good.

“But with my nephews and nieces, their parents feel their kids have fallen behind doing exams.

“Extra hours of tutoring is probably a good thing, but it needs to filter down to all kids, not just [those in] the richer schools.

“I have tried not to stress my sons out by telling them about Covid, but it will have an impact on so many people’s mental health.” Dev Sharma, a GCSE student in London, said his teachers voluntarily gave up an extra hour of their time for catch-up lessons.

He said: “At the start of the school year we didn’t really know what was going on with our exams, we still weren’t given a clear plan.

“We got mixed messages from the government. We were not really being listened to, we didn’t really understand what was happening until Easter.

“Face-to-face quality teaching time is so important. My school was incredible, teachers voluntarily gave an hour after school to have catch-up sessions which was compulsory for pupils.”

Meanwhile, a study this month found that 54 per cent of parents felt their children performed better at school when they were graded throughout the year. And 44 per cent agreed that post-pandemic, their child now prioritises their coursework and class time rather than cramming revision before exams.

Bertie Hubbard, CEO of MyTutor which carried out the survey, said: “The last 18 months have been unbelievably tough year on teens and parents alike, with months out of school, exam cancellations, not seeing friends and worrying about Covid-19.

“With schools open again, catching up on lost learning and prepping for assessed work this term will bring another set of challenges for teens.

“They’re in more need than ever for some support and reassurance with their studies.”

Faisal Rana, a Labour councillor in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, said: “I know it’s not either/or – but the government can easily find £24bn for increased defence spending but will not properly fund children’s education.”

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The evidence we have shows that disadvantaged children and those who live in areas that have been particularly hard hit by high Covid rates, such as the northeast of England and Yorkshire, are among those whose learning is most likely to have been affected.

“We have always been clear and will continue to take the action that is required.

“This is why we continue to pledge significant packages of investment and targeted intervention to help them make up on their lost learning.”