Commenting on the Public Accounts Committee report warning of a
‘lost generation in education’, Kevin Courtney,
Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union, said:
“This new report spells out the worrying trends that schools have
been seeing since the pandemic. The growing attainment gap with
all its implications for children’s life chances can’t be allowed
to continue and the Government must take immediate action.
‘The government is in denial both about the scale of the problems
and the depth of change that our learners need. Disgracefully it
ignored the report of Sir , its own recovery Czar.
‘Governments response to education recovery has focussed on
academic catch up. The provision offered through the National
Tutoring Programme was never adequately and appropriately funded.
It has so far provided less than a third of the money its own
advisor called for and have provided little for the mental health
and emotional impacts of the pandemic. The growing problem of
attendance in part reflects the perception of many students that
their needs are not being met by the current system.
‘The Government must ensure that funding for the NTP is adequate
and long-term, invest in educators to stem the recruitment and
retention crisis, and provide more support for mental
health. It must address our out of date system of
curriculum and assessment and move much more speedily to
implement a well-founded plan for SEND and Alternative
Provision”.
