Comment on education recovery announcement

Commenting on the Government’s education recovery funding announcement, ADCS President Charlotte Ramsden said:

“Today’s announcement provides some additional much needed investment in children and young people’s education recovery. The disruption to their education over the past year has undoubtedly exacerbated pre-existing issues and so we welcome any efforts to address the impact of children being out of the classroom. However, much more needs to be done to tackle the long-term effects of the pandemic and partial school closures beyond education catch-up. There must be an ambition to build back better so that schools and education settings are adequately funded to meet the needs of all pupils, helping to create a truly inclusive education system. We know that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers was widening even before the pandemic struck and so there needs to be a long-term focus from the Government on levelling up and reversing this worrying trend.

“Beyond academic attainment, the Government must also focus on meeting the wider needs of children and young people who have sacrificed months of their learning and socialisation for the health of us all. It is vital that we provide wraparound support with a focus on children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing as well as enrichment activities. Vulnerable children will have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and thousands more children have been pulled into poverty during this time. Future announcements on education recovery must specifically address these critical issues. Local authorities will play a key role in supporting and working with education settings and other partners during this period and we look forward to working closely with Government over the coming months, particularly as the evidence on extending the school day is reviewed.”

ENDS

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