Catch-up camps for children who’ve fallen behind

SPECIAL ‘summer camps’ could be set up in the school holidays in a bid to help children catch up on lost lessons during the lockdown.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said yesterday there were ‘ currently no plans’ to make up time by starting the new school year in August in the normal summer holidays. But he hinted at other ‘initiatives’ to be rolled out during the summer.

And last night, sources confirmed that could involve special ‘summer camps’ for pupils to receive tuition missed during the lockdown.

They said that could apply to children of all relevant school ages and regardless of how well the plan to re-open some schools from next month worked in practice.

The option of starting the new school year early has been floated as one way to allow children to make up for weeks of being out of school and amid concerns that online lessons can only partly compensate.

But at yesterday’s Downing Street daily virus briefing, Mr Williamson insisted: ‘There are currently no plans to start the new school year in early August.’

However, he revealed that his department had been doing ‘ an enormous amount of work’ on initiatives to make ‘sure that people do not miss out as a result of this crisis, looking at how we can make the interventions to support children’.

Mr Williamson said: ‘We are looking at different initiatives that we could maybe look at rolling out during the summer period.’

He declined to give further details but stressed that the Government had ‘got elected on an agenda of levelling up right across society and there is no better way of levelling up, whether it is children or adults, than through education.’

He added: ‘Education is the greatest leveller.’ The comments came as Mr Williamson outlined his plans for a phased school reopening from June 1 of reception, year one and year six in primary schools as well as years ten and 12 in secondary schools. Schools in England closed for most pupils on March 20, staying open only for the children of key workers and for vulnerable youngsters.

Declaring that children ‘stand to lose more by staying away from school’, Mr Williamson vowed to throw a ‘protective bubble’ around young pupils returning to class.

He revealed that returning pupils would be eligible for free coronavirus tests, along with their parents and teachers.

Pr o t e c t i v e measures woul d include small classes and keeping children in small groups.

Pupils and teachers will get free coronavirus tests