Today (18 February) The Education Policy Institute published its
report, “Education reopening and catch-up support across the UK”.
It found that all education recovery plans are “insufficient”.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT,
said:
“The government must have a long-term plan for evidence-based
education recovery, not short-term catch-up ideas such as add-ons
to the school day. High-quality of teaching is the most important
driver of educational equity, and the best contribution the
government could make is to value and invest in the teaching
profession.
“Now is the time for the government to give staff who are
considering leaving, a reason to stay in the teaching profession,
and alongside this must be a boost to investment in high-quality
professional development. And the Department for Education must
incentivise and reward those teaching in the most disadvantaged
communities, while the government looks beyond the school gates
to determine how to improve life chances for young people.
“While we should capitalise on the online innovations that have
happened during lockdown and which can support homework in
future, the biggest limitation of online learning throughout the
pandemic has been, and remains, the lack of access to internet
connections and devices. Schools and pupils need the funding and
resources to overcome these obstacles.”
