Commenting on Learning in Lockdown, a report from the Sutton
Trust, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said:
"We agree with the Sutton Trust that disadvantaged pupils are
going to require significant extra investment because of
deepening levels of deprivation. It's really important that
schools are given flexibility about how they target it, based on
their context. This report highlights the difficulty for families
on lower incomes in spending on their children's learning. These
figures hammer home how much easier it is to provide learning
opportunities in families on higher incomes.
"Education staff are showing real creativity and a real
determination to make remote learning as effective as possible,
and to provide as much individual support as is possible with the
staff available. Staff are thinking practically about what
materials students have at home.
"This study shows teachers are citing a faster roll-out of
laptops as the single most helpful intervention for disadvantaged
students, and teachers have been saying this since the summer.
There is no excuse for why the Government roll-out has been so
slow and inefficient.
"It is clear however that the existing divide in terms of food,
laptops, home environment and job security is getting worse
because of the virus and the Government response needs to be
radical and long term. We need a strategy to end child poverty in
the UK.
"Parents with lower incomes will not be able to spend additional
money on small but essential items such as pens and paper to work
from home. Many school budgets already stretched to breaking
point will also find replicating the access to resources found in
the classroom a significant problem.
"The NEU agrees that schools and colleges need investment on a
scale that could ensure no child is left behind after the
pandemic."
