Why our teachers need to make up for lost time

THE public health crisis might well bring political dividends on both sides of the border. The inevitable economic fall-out will camouflage the harmful consequences of Brexit. Leavers can and will bluster about how that pesky coronavirus has blown us from the post-brexit sunny uplands.

Nearer home, the Scottish Government is bogged down in the educational morass. Even the architects of Curriculum for Excellence accept it’s a mess. The attainment gap is as unbridgeable as ever. Politically, though, all is not lost. The unprecedented length of school closures offers a get out of jail card, to be stashed until it’s needed.

Any respite for the beleaguered education secretary John Swinney will be temporary. The attainment gap widens every day schools are closed. There is little the Government can do in the short or medium term to level the playing field beyond the school day and school buildings. Children from better-off families will continue to benefit from greater adult support, better access to warm, quiet places to study and access to the internet.

There is anecdotal evidence that private tutoring for the children of the better-off is thriving during the current hiatus. Are some locked-down teachers moonlighting?

Closures have removed the one place where the playing field can be levelled. Although there is a case for having kept the schools open, that would have sent the wrong message about the seriousness of our situation. Instead, let’s hope the downtime is being used to develop strategies to support all children and young people who are missing out. Support will be particularly vital for those stranded on the wrong side of the attainment gap.

The health crisis has demanded unprecedented measures. When the dust settles, how about similarly strong responses to minimise the damage to youngsters’ learning and prospects? We cannot accept our young people’s futures are simply unfortunate collateral damage of Covid-19. We have thousands of teachers sitting at home. Where are the strategies at national and council levels to plan, allocate and coordinate their work, ensuring quality activities, experiences and materials are ready when schools reopen?

That may not be enough. Lost time needs to be made up. It would be unprecedented, but there is a case for extending the school day, Saturday opening and reducing the summer holiday.

NHS staff have gone more than the extra mile to help and heal during the health crisis. Is it too much to ask the education sector to react equally selflessly?

Doug Marr is a former headteacher