July 16, 2022

Ex-Tsar Angry Over Neglected Students Left Behind During the Pandemic

F Former education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins charged the UK government with burying its head in the sand regarding the learning loss that has occurred among children in England as a result of COVID. Sir Kevan warned that the issue of neglected students will not "go away" anytime soon. He also claimed that the current NTP (National Tutoring Programme) was in danger of resembling nothing more than a few kids in the corner doing a little tutoring.

Sir Kevan had recently proposed to the UK government an ambitious £15bn plan for recovery, including an extended school day for all. The British government turned a blind eye to his proposal and rejected it. While speaking on the day COVID restrictions were lifted, Sir Collins warned that a tax-cutting arms race in the Conservative leadership race would lead to reductions in education spending.

…that won’t wash because the impact of this isn’t going to go away unless we do something about it... we’re letting down a generation of children if we don’t do it…

In June 2021, Sir Kevan Collins resigned as education catch-up tsar over the then Prime Minister’s plans to scale back recovery plans. Then, he argued that the needs of children whose education was disrupted by the pandemic were not nearly met by the new offer.

In an interview with a leading newspaper, Sir Collins was quoted as saying, "I worry we’re into that ‘Don’t mention the war – don’t mention Covid. Let’s just pretend we can put that behind us. Let’s put our heads in the sand. And that won’t wash because the impact of this isn’t going to go away unless we do something about it. We’re letting down a generation of children if we don’t do it."

He further added that the Prime Minister’s office encouraged him to spend on education while he was the catch-up tsar, but it was the Treasury that put the brakes on his spending. Speaking of his own interactions with the Treasury, he claimed that the agency treated education spending as a cost to be managed rather than as a crucial component of long-term investment.

Refuting the charges made by Sir Kevan Collins, a Department for Education spokesperson said: "The government has been driving forward work to get children back on track after the pandemic, including through our revolutionary national tutoring programme – with over 1.5 million courses already started – and targeted support for whole areas of the country where standards are weakest." From September, the programme will be simplified, with all £349m of funding being provided directly to schools, while additional funding to support education recovery in secondary schools will double.

Posted in News and tagged News, UK, UK Government, England, COVID, National Tutoring Programme
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