Education Secretary is due to
deliver a statement to parliament tomorrow (6 January) to give an
update on a package of support for young people following the
announcement that schools and colleges will close to all but
vulnerable children and children of key workers.
Support for families including a strengthened remote learning
offer and the next steps on the process to put in place
alternative arrangements for exams are expected to be included.
There is recognition that this is an anxious time for students
who have been working hard towards their exams. The government
position is that we will not be asking students to sit GCSE and A
Levels. Working alongside Ofqual, the department will consult on
how to award all pupils a grade that reflects the hard work
they’ve done and will continue to do.
Education Secretary
said:
“I know what a challenging time this is for families, young
people, and for everyone working so hard in
education. I also know the enormous lengths that teachers and
support staff have gone to throughout this pandemic – the benefit
of that work on children’s education and wellbeing is quite
simply immeasurable, and has enabled millions to be back in
classrooms spending valuable time with their teachers.
“It is now vital that we support our young people at home,
including making sure all students are receiving the best
possible remote education, and that those students who were due
to take exams can still progress to their next stage of education
or training.
“Education continues to be a national priority - these new
national restrictions do not change that. I am determined that
this virus, and the steps we all must take to fight it, do not
come at the cost of children’s life chances.”
In light of the evolving public health measures, the government
has also confirmed that schools and colleges can continue with
the vocational and technical exams that are due to take place in
January, where they judge it right to do so.
A Department for Education spokesperson said
“In light of the evolving public health measures, schools and
colleges can continue with the vocational and technical exams
that are due to take place in January, where they judge it right
to do so.
“We understand this is a difficult time but we want to support
schools and colleges whose students have worked hard to prepare
for assessments and exams where necessary. This may be
particularly important for VTQs which require a ‘license to
practise’ which can only be fulfilled through practical
assessment, such as an electrician.”
“Schools and colleges have already implemented extensive
protective measures to make them as safe as possible. We will
continue to work with Ofqual, awarding organisations and other
stakeholders to discuss the next steps and provide more detail on
the way forward, including ensuring other students have a way to
progress with as little disruption as possible.”
To support remote learning, Oak National Academy was set up last
year and is backed by government – with 10,000 online lessons
created by teachers available, offering a curriculum covering
reception to year 11. The
The BBC is also offering its biggest education offer in history
from Monday 11 January. CBBC will have a three-hour block of
primary school programming from 9am each weekday and BBC Two will
cater for secondary students with at least two hours of content
each weekday.
The government has scaled up our devices scheme, with more than
one million laptops and tablets purchased for disadvantaged young
people during this pandemic, supporting schools and students to
access remote education.
To support the delivery of remote education for children and
young people, the government provided 560,000 laptops tablets to
schools and local authorities in 2020.
Over 50,000 laptops and tablets were delivered to schools across
the country on Monday 4 January, and over 100,000 will be
delivered in total during the first week of term.
The Department has partnered with some of the UK’s leading mobile
network operators, including EE, Three, Tesco Mobile, Smarty, Sky
Mobile and Virgin Mobile, to provide free data to disadvantaged
families. Families will benefit from this additional data until
July 2021. Schools will be able to request free mobile data
uplifts via the Get Help with Technology service which was
launched in December.
