Teachers fear students will miss out in exams
A majority of teachers say students who are due to sit exams next year following months of school closures are not on track to get the results they are capable of.
Staff at schools in the most deprived areas are more concerned that pupils will miss out – with 60% of thes saying they cannot provide resources needed for home study, according a the poll of 6,932 teachers by the Teacher Tapp app.
The poll, for the Publishers Association, found 53% of teachers feel they are not on track to get the results that they can achieve – rising to 66% in schools where most children receive free school meals.
Stephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association, said: "Many pupils will fail to achieve the exam results they are capable of and see their life chances harmed unless action is taken. The Government must urgently provide schools with additional funding to ensure that young people have access to the digital learning platforms and textbooks needed.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: "The Government has to get real about the ongoing impact of COVID, as it works with Ofqual on the exams for next summer.
"As things stand, exams will become a measure of the disruption caused by COVID, rather than what pupils are capable of.
A Department for Education spokesman said: "We recognise that students due to take exams next summer will have experienced disruption to their education, which is why we prioritised bringing Year 10 and Year 12 pupils back to school last term."