Unions want ban on school absence fines

EDUCATION unions are calling for a temporary ban on school absence fines as thousands of pupils return to classrooms in England and Wales.

Some 97 per cent of schools are expected to welcome back all students for the start of the autumn term today, with some areas not returning until next week, despite concerns being raised about their ability to reopen safely.

It will be the first time many pupils in England have stepped into a classroom since March, when schools were closed except to look after vulnerable children and those of key workers.

The National Association of Head Teachers said the Government should temporarily scrap fines for parents who do not send their children back to class due to fears around coronavirus.

General secretary Paul Whiteman said: “If you are a parent and you are worried about safety, a fine is unlikely to make you feel any safer. The Government understands this, but the threat of fines still remains, so we’re urging the Government to take the threat of fines off the table for the coming term.”

The Department for Education said fines for parents who refuse to send their children will be used only as a “last resort”.

EDUCATION MUST be placed at “the heart” of the Government’s levelling- up agenda as added pressures from the coronavirus risk wiping out the gains of the past decade, Yorkshire leaders have said.

It is feared the successes and progression of the pioneering ‘ opportunity areas’ scheme across the region are at risk unless a “long- term commitment” is made due to new challenges and added pressures caused by the pandemic.

The call to action comes after a report from the Education Endowment Foundation in June found that the attainment gap caused by shutting down schools could wipe out a decade of gains from education policy.

Analysis from those studies suggested that a near six- month closure of schools could lead to an attainment gap of between 11 per cent and 75 per cent, with a median figure of 36 per cent.

Bradford, Doncaster and the North Yorkshire coast are three of 12 opportunity areas where extra funding is used to improve educational outcomes and tackle poor performance.

During the initial three years, when £ 72m was spent across the 12 opportunity areas, children’s reading, writing and maths scores at primary school level increased in the three areas in Yorkshire by 12 per cent above the national average

Sir Chris Husbands, the opportunity area head for Doncaster, said: “The opportunity areas have made a really significant difference, but this will need long term sustained support and I really hope part of the levelling- up agenda is that government makes a long term commitment to additional resourcing.”

Professor Husbands, ViceChancellor at Sheffield Hallam University, who cited improvements in literacy and extensive work with vulnerable children as the greatest successes in Doncaster over the last three years, said part of the £ 1.4m fourth year funding had already been allocated for re- engagement in schooling, to aid with Covid- 19 catch- up.

“Significant numbers of children will have been out of school for six months by September, the challenges are about learning loss. We want to put the system back together. It’s not going to be a short job, Covid has caused a pretty serious crisis.”

Anne- Marie Canning, the opportunity area head for Bradford, said a priority for the city would be shifting focus to tutoring to help children catch- up and activity around employability.

Ms Canning said: “We are really leaning in on children who are at risk of need, because we know the labour market and the employment opportunity is going to be so radically different after Covid, so really focusing on people who are really at risk of not being in employment or educational training.”

Sir Martin Narey, the opportunity area head for the North Yorkshire Coast, added: “The consequences of Covid are very grave, much greater than the opportunity area budget can address but I think our £ 1.5m next year will make things easier for headteachers.”

It’s not going to be a short job, Covid has caused a pretty serious crisis. Sir Chris Husbands, the opportunity area head for Doncaster.