Two thirds of children fail to log on for lessons

Poorest pupils at risk of falling even further behind during lockdown, teachers warn

TWO thirds of children have not taken part in online lessons during lockdown, a study has found amid concern that many pupils are struggling to learn at home.

Pupils at private schools are more than twice as likely to receive daily online tuition as their state-educated peers, according to the poll by the Sutton Trust and Public First, which will fuel fears that the poorest children will fall furthest behind in their studies.

Today is when millions of pupils would be returning to school for the first day of term after the Easter holiday, but children are instead trapped at home due to the coronavirus lockdown and expected to continue their studies remotely.

The Sutton Trust report will stoke concerns about the quality of education children are able to access at home and that some will struggle to catch up when schools do return.

The Government refused yesterday to give a timeline for the end of lockdown, with Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, saying that he could not give a date for schools to reopen.

His remarks followed speculation that a three-phase plan to lift the lockdown could see schools reopen as early as in three weeks’ time.

Mr Williamson yesterday announced a package of measures aimed at supporting children’s learning at home amid concerns that the most vulnerable will fall behind.

Disadvantaged children – including those who have been in care and those with a social worker – will be given free laptops and tablets to ensure they do not miss out. Youngsters who do not have mobile or broadband internet will also be given 4G routers, and major telecommunications providers have pledged to temporarily exempt education sites from data charges.

A government-backed “virtual school” will launch today with free online daily lesson plans for children aged four to 15.

Since schools closed on March 20, just 34 per cent of pupils have taken part in live or recorded online lessons, according to the poll by the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, and Public First, a political research agency.

At private schools, 51 per cent of primary and 57 per cent of secondary students have accessed online lessons every day, compared with just 19 per cent of state primary and 22 per cent of state secondary students.

The survey, which questioned 1,500 parents and 6,500 teachers, also found disparities in the amount of work that children are completing.

Half (50 per cent) of teachers in private schools said they were receiving more than three quarters of work back, compared with 27 per cent in the best state schools, and just 8 per cent in the least advantaged state schools.

Ministers have come under pressure to announce a timeline on schools reopening, which is seen by some as holding the key to ending lockdown, since it would enable parents to go back to work.

But Mr Williamson’s remarks at the Government’s daily press briefing indicated that there were no plans for schools to reopen ahead of the easing of lockdown more generally. He said that schools would not return until the Government’s five tests for lifting lockdown were met.

Announced by Dominic Raab, the Prime Minister’s stand-in, when he confirmed that lockdown would be extended, the tests include that the death rate is consistently falling, that the NHS’S ability to cope has been protected and that any changes do not risk a second peak. Head teacher union bosses said that ministers were in “no

rush” to reopen schools until scientific advice indicated that this was a safe option, warning that it was “reckless” to consider a premature return.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at the National Association of Head Teachers, said that during his regular meetings with Mr Williamson and his advisers, there was no push from ministers to make the science fit in with a desire to reopen schools.

“My sense is that when the scientific and medical advice is such that we can plan for a return, then we will,” he said. “I am not sensing any rush from the Department for Education about reopening schools ahead of the scientific advice.” Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it would be “madness” to deliver laptops or 4G routers to disadvantaged children if schools were to reopen soon.

“There are a number of logistical problems of getting the kit delivered to the local authorities, then to the schools, then to the homes of young people,” he said. “It would be madness to do all that if, in a few weeks’ time, schools are back on.”

He added that there was “no credibility” around the idea that any form of school reopening would take place before the May half-term holiday.

Any return to school would be phased, with Year 10 and Year 12 pupils taking priority since they are midway through their GCSE and A-level courses, Mr Barton said.