NEU comment on EEF report on Impact of Covid

Commenting on Impact of school closures and subsequent support strategies on attainment and socio-emotional wellbeing in Key Stage 1, new research published by the Education Endowment Foundation, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

"These reports show, once again, how much we need a long term, properly thought-through and resourced plan for education recovery. A gap of seven months progress in reading and mathematics will not be closed overnight, nor by a strategy based solely on an underfunded and ill-thought-out tutoring programme.

"The evidence and guidance for reading shows clearly that what pupils have missed is opportunities for meaningful engagement with stories, and reading for understanding. Teachers will need to carry out their own assessments to understand exactly what support their pupils need in these areas. This is far more likely to help pupils to improve their reading and writing than the statutory test of nonsense words that government is imposing in the autumn term."