Labour has today [Thursday] criticised the Government for showing
“no ambition” to recover the damage the pandemic has done to
children.
Children have lost over 900 million days of face-to-face school
since the pandemic began in March 2020 - an average of 105 days
per child.
On a virtual visit to a secondary school in Hackney, , Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, will urge the
Government to be more ambitious and point out that the
Government’s plan:
- Means that most children cannot expect to receive any
additional contact time – despite 105 school days being lost for
each child. Summer school programmes are expected to reach just a
third of pupils on free school meals.
- Includes nothing specific on wellbeing and mental health -
despite expert warnings that the pandemic is leading to
significant increase in probable mental health conditions and NHS
data showing a 50% increase in children’s mental health
conditions since 2017.
- Says nothing on how this extra support will be staffed.
- Makes no long-term commitment to delivering the support
children need, with funding only provided for one year.
, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:
“Delivering the support children need should be the centre piece
of our national recovery from this pandemic, but Ministers have
again shown their lack of ambition for our children. Most
children will not get any additional contact time, there is
nothing specific on wellbeing and mental health, and no long-term
plan to ensure children get the support they need.
“The Government has neglected children throughout the pandemic.
We need a transformation in support for children’s learning and
wellbeing but Ministers are failing to give pupils, parents and
staff the support they need.”
Ends
Notes to editors
- Labour analysis of Government attendance data shows pupils
have missed 931,887,336 days of face-to-face school since March
2020:
Source: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/2021-week-8
- Summer schools would be available for half a million children
if run over a week, schools will have flexibility to
There are 1.44 million children on free school meals meaning at
most a third will receive this support
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0b193b1f-a5f0-4188-895a-18e462fe070c
- NHS Digital Survey conducted in July 2020 shows one in six
children having a probable mental disorder
https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/news/survey-conducted-in-july-2020-shows-one-in-six-children-having-a-probable-mental-disorder
- Evening Standard: Young London SOS: Tackle child mental
health crisis now, experts tell ministers
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/young-london-sos/young-london-sos-tackle-child-mental-health-crisis-experts-ministers-b918486.htm
