Extra £1bn for children to 'catch up' on learning 

Scheme will provide funds for in-school tutors to run extra classes for small groups of pupils throughout academic year

Boris Johnson said the plan 'will help headteachers to provide extra support to children who have fallen behind while out of school'
Boris Johnson said the plan 'will help headteachers to provide extra support to children who have fallen behind while out of school' Credit: AFP

The Government will pay for private tutors for children who have fallen behind during lockdown as part of a £1 billion "catch-up" plan to be announced by the Prime Minister on Friday. 

Schools will be given money to hire in-house tutors who can run extra classes for small groups of pupils throughout the academic year.

The £350 million tutoring programme will be targeted at the most disadvantaged children in the country, who have fared the worst while schools have been closed amid the coronavirus crisis.

Headteachers will also be given £650 million to spend on catch-up activities for youngsters, which could include summer camps.

Boris Johnson said the strategy "will help headteachers to provide extra support to children who have fallen behind while out of school".

He added: "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."

The announcement comes amid rising concern about the plight of children during lockdown and fears that a decade of progress in narrowing the attainment gap is in danger of being reversed.

Research published earlier this week showed that more than two million children have done virtually no schoolwork during lockdown.  

Mr Johnson had previously promised there would be a national strategy for a "huge summer catch-up". However, teaching unions have said their members should not be expected to work for free over the summer because they need a break.

Schools will be free to spend the £650 million as they see fit, but it is anticipated that the tuition programme will begin largely in the new school year. Those in the most deprived areas will be able to use the funds to hire university graduates, who will be trained to provide "intensive catch-up support" to pupils. 

Research organisation the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), will publish a guide to advise headteachers on how best to spend the one-off grant.

Sir Peter Lampl, the EEF chairman, said drafting in private tutors was a "major opportunity" to undo the damage wrought by months of school closures.

"When it comes to schooling, Covid-19 has done huge damage, at speed, to our children's prospects, putting their futures in danger," he said. "Many pupils have fallen significantly behind in their learning. These pupils come disproportionately from poorer homes."

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The tutors will be available to disadvantaged children of all ages and in all subjects, the Government said. It is hoped an intensive programme of tuition will help accelerate their academic progress and prevent the gulf between them and their more affluent peers widening.

One in five pupils in the UK – equating to around 2.3 million children – either did no home learning at all or less than one hour a day, according to a report by University College London.

The poorest children, defined as those eligible for free school meals, did the least schoolwork at home. Only one in 10 spent more than four hours a day on schoolwork, compared to nearly one fifth (19 per cent) of their wealthier peers.

Headteachers welcomed Friday's announcement but complained that they had been left in the dark about the plans, having been shut out of discussion with ministers.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "We welcome this vital investment in helping children to catch up with lost learning as a result of the coronavirus emergency. 

"It will help to support the work that schools are already undertaking in drawing up catch-up plans.

 "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."

Downing Street has come under fire for its policy on schools reopening, having rowed back on plans to get all primary school pupils back to the classroom before the summer, then later said it would encourage this after all.

Earlier this week, new official guidance said every secondary school pupil in England will be allowed to return to school before the summer, but only for one day

Previously, officials had said only Year 10 and Year 12 pupils would be allowed back before the summer.

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