Responding to a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC),
which warns that the impact of the pandemic on children’s
education will have far-reaching consequences for an entire
generation unless urgent action is taken, Julie McCulloch,
Director of Policy at the Association of School and College
Leaders, said:
“As this report starkly shows, the Covid pandemic has taken a
terrible toll on many young people and continues to do so – not
only in terms of learning, but in growing mental health
challenges and lower rates of attendance. It is disadvantaged
pupils who have been hit the hardest as they faced the greatest
barriers in accessing remote learning during the pandemic and are
now worst affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
“The link between poverty and educational attainment is clear and
long-standing. Even before the pandemic, the rate of progress in
closing the disadvantage gap moved at a snail’s pace because of
the lack of a concerted government strategy and investment. We
are now further away than ever from solving this problem.
“The committee’s assertion that the Department for Education does
not appreciate the pressures facing schools is a damning
indictment of the department’s failure to listen to the evidence
that ASCL and a host of other organisations have repeatedly set
out to ministers and officials in forensic detail. We fully
support the committee’s recommendations that the department
should set out a plan on how to reduce the disadvantage gap and
absence rates, and that it should reconsider how the National
Tutoring Programme can best support all pupils.
“It is essential that this is underpinned by improved funding to
schools and colleges and action to address the worsening problem
of teacher shortages.”
