Fears it may take a year for pupils to catch up

Parents’ worries revealed in survey as schools open

NEARLY A third of parents believe it will take at least a school year for their child to recover lost learning, research suggests, as many pupils get ready for a return to school for the first time in almost three months today.

The majority of young people have faced weeks of remote learning since lockdown came into effect in January, with England’s chief inspector for schools Amanda Spielman warning over the impact on children’s mental health.

And while concerns have been raised that a greater return to the classroom could result in a spike in school-led Covid cases, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said more damage was being done by keeping pupils at home.

In interviews with broadcasters yesterday, he rebuffed concerns over a potential rise in the rate of transmission, stating: “You ask about the risk of schools returning – I think the risk is actually in not going back to school given all the suffering, all the loss of learning we have seen.”

He was “hopeful” that today’s planned return will go smoothly.

“I’m massively grateful to parents who have put up with so much throughout the pandemic and teachers who have done an amazing job of keeping going,” he said.

“I do think we are ready, I think people want to go back, they feel it, they feel the need for it.”

Some 20,000 schools are set to open more widely to pupils again today, on the first step of the Government’s road map to recovery from the pandemic, with train services ramped up in anticipation.

Surveys carried out by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), suggest many parents are now more confident about a return to the classroom, with 89 per cent prepared to send their child back, compared to two-thirds last year.

But the analysis also lays bare fears over the impact on young people, with two-thirds of parents concerned about lost learning as a result of school closures.

Nearly one in 10 secondary school parents think that their child will never make up for the effects of the pandemic, according to the research, while almost a third think recovery will take a school year or more.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, setting out suggestions for recovery, confirmed yesterday that proposed changes to the summer holidays and longer school days were being considered, while guaranteeing that schools will continue to stay open after the Easter holidays.

Sir Kevan Collins, the Government’s education recovery commissioner, would be looking at what measures to introduce over the next 18 months, Mr Williamson told Sky News.

“We are looking at holidays, we are looking at lengthening the school day, we’re looking at a whole range of measures and we’ve asked Sir Kevan to leave no stone unturned,” the minister added.