SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER
NORTH EAST EDUCATION CHIEFS URGE RETHINK ON PLANS TO KEEP KIDS IN CLASS AFTER TERM FOR CATCH-UP LESSONS
Sunday Sun MARCH 7, 2021
NORTH East educators have “significant concerns” about plans which could see kids staying in the classroom over the summer.
Last week, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced a further £502m fund to help students who’ve fallen behind during the coronavirus lockdown get back up to speed.
The pot includes a £302 million “recovery premium” for schools to support catch-up work, and £200m for tutoring and summer schools programmes.
Meanwhile the Education Secretary said he was considering a “whole expanse” of options to get children back on track, refusing to rule out lengthening the school day or extending the term further into the summer.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said the funding boost was “very welcome”, particularly for disadvantaged pupils whose learning had been hit hardest during the pandemic.
But, he said schools needed “far greater discretion” over how they help pupils catch up.
While a significant proportion of the £200 million pot will fund the expansion of National Tutoring Programme, which was created to help schools and pupils recover from Covid-19, Schools North East says less than 20% of local school leaders it surveyed were engaging with the programme, making it a poor choice for the region.
“School leaders have commented on the lack of available mentors, as well as a lack of engagement from students, with many also feeling that external tutors are not best placed to support their students,” a spokesperson for the body said.
And Mr Zarraga insisted plans to make students work over the summer could be bad for both children and teachers, if they involved a heavy focus on academic achievement.
He said: “Furthermore, with significant concerns around staff mental health and wellbeing with increased workloads due to facilitating both in class teaching and remote learning, proposals to run ‘catch-up’ programmes over the summer break are likely to exacerbate low morale.
“Summer programmes focusing on academic catch-up are unlikely to receive positive engagement from students and need to focus on physical wellbeing, and social and emotional development, which has also been severely impacted due to Covid.
He added: “Most importantly, we don’t yet know the full extent of the ‘learning loss’ students have suffered, and before implementing any plans to combat this, policymakers should be working with school leaders to discover exactly what has been ‘lost’ and then develop long-term solutions.”
Announcing the education funding plans, the Prime Minister tweeted: “When schools reopen on 8 March, I want to make sure no child is left behind as a result of the learning they have lost over the past year.
“A new £700m package of catch-up funding will help teachers support their pupils as they return to the classroom.”
Asked whether school days could be lengthened or the summer break cut, Mr Williamson told Sky News: “We’re looking at a whole range of different actions.
“What we wanted to do was give schools the extra resources they needed to be able to take action immediately.
“Some of the reforms we want to look at and sort of consult on will look at the whole expanse of what we can do in terms of helping children have extra teaching time, have extra opportunities.
“But this is an immediate response to give those children that extra boost.”
THE Prime Minister has hailed the “truly national effort to beat” coronavirus with the country on the cusp of marking the first phase of lockdown easing.
Pupils across England are due to return to classrooms on Monday as the Government follows through with stage one of Boris Johnson’s road map for lifting restrictions.
The Prime Minister said: “The reopening of schools marks a truly national effort to beat this virus.
“It is because of the determination of every person in this country that we can start moving closer to a sense of normality – and it is right that getting our young people back into the classroom is the first step.”
Mr Johnson urged the public to stick to the rules as the Government contemplates keeping to its “cautious” plans for removing measures.
According to the Prime Minister’s road map, the second part of stage one, which will allow outdoor gatherings of either six people or two households, is due on March 29.
Shops could open by April 12 and all restrictions could possibly be lifted by June 21.
“We are being cautious in our approach so that we do not undo the progress we have made so far and I urge you all not to give up on your efforts to keep your families and others safe,” Mr Johnson added. “Get the vaccine, get tested, and remember that we are all in this together.”
The Conservative Party leader’s urge for people to continue to obey the rules comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock shared data on Friday showing that the average daily number of Covid cases, hospital admissions and deaths are the lowest they have been since the autumn.
Mr Hancock said the decrease in cases meant the Government could continue with its plan of replacing the lockdown with the “protection that comes from vaccines and regular testing”.
As part of reopening schools, ministers are asking pupils to take two quick-result tests per week in order to weed out asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19. Downing Street said nearly 57 million lateral flow test kits, which can produce results in less than 30 minutes, have already been delivered to schools and colleges as part of the rollout.
After three initial tests on site students will be provided with two rapid tests to use each week at home.
Professor Sheila Bird, a member of the Royal Statistical Society, said the recommendation to ask school pupils to produce tests twice a week should be reviewed to ensure consent continues.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “Twice a week is a big ask of children and families, and the additional benefit from doing this twice a week versus once a week is modest and it has to be offset against the implications for the consent rate and the willingness to do it.”
Secondary school and college students are also being asked to wear face coverings in classrooms where social distancing cannot be maintained.
A COVID-19 survivor and his family have completed a million steps for the NHS – and raised more than £8,500 in the process.
Amad Ali spent more than three weeks in intensive care at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and feared he would never see his loved ones again.
But, inspired by the tireless efforts of the NHS staff who helped save his life, the Gosforth dad launched a campaign from his hospital bed last month to spread awareness of just how dangerous the virus is.
Amad and five family members pledged to walk a combined one million steps, approximately 500 miles, in 19 days and passed that milestone on schedule on Friday lunchtime.
The restaurant owner, who runs the Crawcrook Tandoori in Ryton, says he is now feeling “much better” after being released from hospital on February 17 and was able to contribute a little to the huge walking effort himself. The Ali family have been left overwhelmed by the amount of support they have received – including two individual donations of more than £1,000.
Amad said: “The message is to stay vigilant, take the Government’s advice, get the vaccine, stay safe.
“Look after yourself, look after your families and friends. It is so very important. While I was in hospital the doctors were telling me I needed to rest and relax, but when this idea came to my mind I just couldn’t stop.
“In my hospital bed I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I have come back from Covid but other people need to be aware.
“I had to think about all the other people who this could happen to. Covid is just around the corner and I had to warn people that they needed to be more careful.”
In less than a month, a Go Fund Me page for the campaign has generated 150 donations totalling more than £8,500, with the money split between the NHS and the Rohingya Action North East charity.
Amad’s 70-year-old mother-in-law Amina died after contracting Covid and he feared that the virus would take his life too as he suffered in hospital with pneumonia, liver problems, extreme tiredness, and severe breathing difficulties. But he is now back
home and recovering well alongside his wife Syeda and his two sons, Shah and Amaan. Amad added: “I still have a bit of a cough and the lungs still aren’t totally better, but I have been able to do a bit more walking around.
“I am so proud of my wife and my sons. Without them I would not have been able to do all this, I really appreciate what they have done for me.”