The PM’s summer catch-up schools are just another boxticking exercise to get votes
My heart sank when I read about Boris Johnson’s latest plan to run summer schools as part of a £700m catch-up scheme. Apparently, the government is going to allocate £200m to schools to run face-to-face summer tuition programmes to help children catch up who have faced a year of disruption to their learning.
It is a laudable aim – however I believe children don’t need more pressure, structured learning or assessments. They need to be able to play outside with their friends, have some freedom and to enjoy this long-awaited summer after a year of having to put their lives on hold to protect the vulnerable and the NHS
during the Covid-19 pandemic.
I think the government have completely missed the point. School is not just about obtaining academic targets. It’s also about spending time with your friends, playing sport and learning the so-called soft skills which are an essential need for adulthood – negotiation, compromising and having fun.
The prime minister’s “No child is left behind” slogan is meaningless, much like the “Take back control” Brexit one. It’s just a tick-box exercise to get votes. The aim is to make it sound as though they care about our kids, seemingly in lieu rather than a well-thought out programme.
The money will apparently be divided up to use at the schools “discretion” with the average primary school also receiving around £6,000 and secondary schools receiving around £22,000 extra in recovery premium payments.
But, much like many other government initiatives this year – including closing the schools a day after announcing they were perfectly safe and giving schools and parents less than 12-hours’ notice – it’s not clear as to how these summer schools will work in practice.
We may not think these things matter that much in the grand scheme of things but they only have one childhood and a year is a very long time for a kid
Who will run them, for starters? The teachers are exhausted, especially the ones who have been trying to teach and homeschool their own kids. Should they really be expected to work over the holidays too?
I am sick of our children – from toddlers who have missed out on the social interaction which is essential to their development, to teenagers who have had exams cancelled and been cut off from their friends – being used as pawns in this pandemic. The futures of the so-called “Covid cohort” have been overlooked for the Baby Boomers who have already benefited from final-salary pension schemes, property ownership and free healthcare.
The money should be put towards something more creative, such as outside play areas, counselling, forest schools or mental health programmes for our children.
It’s just another example of how desperately out of touch this government is with families and parents. They have put children’s welfare last on the list the whole time. My eldest child, who has just turned 12, has lost so much over the last year: his last residential trip in his final term at primary school, the leaving party, football and playdates.
We may not think these things matter that much in the grand scheme of things but they only have one precious childhood and a year is a very long time for a kid.
The government need to change the education targets, including the meaningless SATs and review the whole system in light of the last year rather than try and shoehorn children into school over the summer. It’s not as if it’s in any way possible for them to compensate for a year in a few weeks anyway.
Having said that, I had no issue with sending my children to a day camp, sports club or any other activity where they can spend time with their peers and have fun. It’s the word school I object to.
I can see the benefits of having childcare occupied over the long six-week summer holiday, which is always something of a nightmare for working parents and not fit for purpose in many ways. But I don’t think summer school is the answer.
I’m also aware that some children will benefit from some time at school over the summer – but to truly “leave no child behind” they need real targeted help not just an announcement saying funds are available.
It’s simply not okay to keep messing around with the lives of our children in this way.
Georgina Fuller is a freelance journalist