£1bn fund to help children catch up on education lost to coronavirus pandemic

A £1 billion fund will be used to help children in England catch up with lost learning after months out of school due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Boris Johnson has announced.

The most disadvantaged children will have access to tutors through a £300 million national programme, which is expected to run over two years, to prevent the attainment gap from widening further.

A further £700 million will be shared across nurseries, schools and colleges over the 2020-21 academic year to help children from all backgrounds who have lost teaching time, the Prime Minister said.

School leaders will be allowed to decide how best to spend the one-off grant on interventions to help students affected by the pandemic.

UK Schools begin to reopen during Coronavirus lockdown ease

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The Government's aim is that providers who run holiday clubs and activities for pupils over the summer break will be able to open - if the science allows it.

The announcement comes after Boris Johnson said last week that school pupils will undergo a "massive catch-up operation over the summer and beyond" to get up to speed on work they have missed.

Ministers have come under pressure to get children back to school amid concerns about the damage being caused to pupils' attainment and wellbeing.

Children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 have begun returning to primary school in England, and some Year 10 and 12 pupils returned to secondary school and college this week.

But all pupils are not due to return to school until at least September after the Government was forced to abandon plans to get all primary school children back in class before the summer break.

Mr Johnson said: "This £1 billion catch-up package will help head teachers to provide extra support to children who have fallen behind while out of school.

"I am determined to do everything I can to get all children back in school from September, and we will bring forward plans on how this will happen as soon as possible."

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "We cannot afford for any of our children to lose out as a result of Covid-19. The scale of our response must match the scale of the challenge.

"This package will make sure that every young person, no matter their age or where they live, gets the education, opportunities and outcomes they deserve, by spending it on measures proven to be effective, particularly for those who are most disadvantaged."

Schools closed more than 12 weeks ago, remaining open only for vulnerable youngsters and the children of key workers, which will mean some children will have been out of class for nearly six months.

On Thursday, Sir Daniel Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation trust, which runs 48 academies, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's fair to say many children have been severely damaged educationally by this necessary shutdown. We've had a number of traumatised youngsters.

"With the children that have been coming in, some have been very withdrawn, some have been disturbed they have missed interaction with their friends.

"They've not only gone backwards in learning, they have gone backwards in emotional development as well."

He added that the return to school will "look different" for months after September and schools will need to cope with a variety of issues.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), said: "Despite the heroic efforts of schools, many pupils' learning has suffered as a result of school closures.

"These children are drawn disproportionately from disadvantaged communities and need extensive support."

He added: "Extensive trials show that high-quality tuition is a cost-effective way to enable pupils to catch up. Through a collaboration of organisations across the country, our aim is to make this tuition available to tens of thousands of primary and secondary school pupils."

The announcement comes after more than 1,500 paediatricians called on the Prime Minister to make the opening of schools a priority or "risk scarring the life chances of a generation of young people".

The doctors signed a letter by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) asking for authorities in England and Northern Ireland to lay out detailed plans for getting children back to school.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the investment in helping children to catch-up.

But on the £300 million National Tutoring Programme, Mr Barton said the school leaders' union had concerns about ensuring that it is "high-quality provision".

He added: "It remains frustrating that we haven't had the opportunity to discuss any of this with the Government ahead of this announcement and that we once again find ourselves having to guess the detail.

"We really do need a much more collaborative approach so that the Government and profession can together work on developing a really effective, joined-up national plan."

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