Covid generation will feel 'glad' to have lived through pandemic, says union boss
The Covid generation will look back on the past year like evacuees at the end of the Second World War and feel “glad to have lived through it,” a union boss has said.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he believes that children will reflect on the pandemic and see it as an “extraordinary experience”.
He was addressing MPs at an education select committee hearing on catch-up plans for pupils who have missed out on a significant amount of their education during lockdown.
Mr Barton told the committee that school leaders should be given the flexibility to decide who best to help their pupils get up to speed.
“If we have got a central sense of what is it that makes an impact, then we should trust in those schools and those colleges that they should decide what is the right provision for them,” he said.
“If my thesis is right that it’s about quality of teaching rather than quantity, my guess is that the routines for a lot of people will suddenly kick back in.
“And actually they will look back like the evacuees at the end of the Second World War thinking that was an extraordinary experience, I am glad to have lived through it, as it were.”
His remarks came as the catch-up tsar said that the Government's multimillion-pound support package for young children who have faced Covid-19 disruption is "not sufficient".
Sir Kevan Collins, the Government's education recovery commissioner, told MPs that he did not believe £18 million of catch-up funding to support children in the early years across England was enough to address the challenges.
His comments came after Boris Johnson announced an extra £400 million of funding – on top of the £300 million pledged in January – to help pupils make up lost learning time following months of closures.
In June, the Prime Minister also announced a £1 billion catch-up fund for pupils.
But when asked whether there was enough support for preschool children in the measures announced last week, Sir Kevan said: "No, it is not sufficient."
He added: "I think the whole package isn't sufficient. I think it's a good start but this is not the recovery plan."
Addressing the education select committee, he added that leaders needed "to go much further" with long-term work to support young people.
When asked whether there was a national strategy to link together all the Government-funded schemes for disadvantaged children, Sir Kevan said: "No, I don't think there's enough of an integrated strategy."
The Government's recovery programme for children affected by the pandemic is revealing "underlying scars and issues" in the system, he told MPs.
Sir Kevan said: "We need to see this as not just tackling the recovery but actually a longer term piece of reform."
As part of the recovery package announced last week, summer schools will be introduced for pupils who need it the most, such as incoming Year 7 pupils, whilst tutoring schemes will be expanded.
The announcement came after the Government considered a variety of options as part of the catch-up plans for pupils who have missed out – including extended school days and shorter summer holidays.
When asked whether extending the school day could be an option in the future, Sir Kevan told the education select committee: "It's a time for all things being considered, all things being available."
