No child left behind: Schoolchildren face catch-up lessons in the summer holidays

Children in schools
Schoolchildren face lessons in the summer holidays to help them catch up after months away from the classroom during the pandemic
PA
John Dunne @jhdunne21 February 2021

Pupils who have missed months of school during the pandemic will face lessons in the summer, it has been reported.

The government will be give schools millions of pounds to open through the six week break under the plan.

Education officials are drawing up a package to pay for private tutors or bankroll overtime payments for teachers, according to the Sunday Times.

The summer schools will feature sports and group activities in the morning followed by lessons in the afternoon.

A “Covid premium” will also be paid to schools for each pupil considered disadvantaged, the paper reports.

The scheme was drawn up by Sir Kevan Collins, who was appointed by the PM as a “catch-up tsar” earlier this month.

A source said: “This isn’t just education support but also social support.

“We’re acutely aware that pupils’ mental health has been impacted by not seeing friends or playing sport.”

Under the government’s lockdown lifting plans, schools are set to reopen on March 8.

Sir Kevan will also confirm that teachers will once again decide what grades GCSE and A-level students are awarded this summer after exams were cancelled for the second year in a row.

The results will be published a fortnight earlier than usual to allow exam boards time to process an anticipated tide of appeals.

Teachers will have until just mid-June to prepare their assessments, and while “mini exams” will be sent out, it will be up to schools to decide if students take them.

However, there are concerns appeals over grades could take months to sort through, putting pressure on those hoping to head to university in September.

Andrew Halls, the head of King’s College School Wimbledon - one of the country’s highest-performing schools - told the paper: “The entire job of judge and jury is on teachers in schools and it is a terrible responsibility.

“I know of really good schools where there are still some parents pursuing legal action against last summer’s results.”

Boris Johnson has repeatedly said his priority is to reopen schools.

He said: “I am absolutely determined that no child will be left behind as a result of the pandemic.”

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