Commenting on the Education Policy Institute (EPI) report,
‘Education policy responses across the UK to the pandemic’, Geoff
Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“It is pretty damning that the executive chairman of the
Education Policy Institute concludes that the governments of the
UK nations should have done far better on education policy during
the Covid crisis.
“Certainly, ASCL’s experience has been that schools have often
felt that they have been left to swing in the wind without the
support they need from government.
“We say that with particular reference to the Westminster
government whose handling of education policy has been shambolic.
“Even now, we are not convinced it has fully grasped the level of
need for laptops and internet connections to support the delivery
of remote education to children from disadvantaged homes.
“And its flip-flopping over free school meal provision during
holiday periods, and chaotic delivery of the voucher system,
caused great uncertainty and concern for schools and struggling
families at a time when they needed assurance.
“A lot of problems could have been avoided if the government had
taken a more collaborative approach with the education
profession, but schools have often first heard about government
policies from briefings to the media.”
