When the prime minister announced that schools and colleges were to partially close in the effort to halt the spread of Covid-19, he was clear that on-site provision had to remain in place for certain groups of children – including vulnerable learners and those whose parents are key workers.

As a result, schools and colleges had to get action plans into place very quickly, identifying learners who were entitled to continue attending. This had to be done alongside the creation of remote and digital learning strategies for all the other students who would be staying at home.

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We all know that this was and continues to be a mammoth task. As education professionals, we are all committed to ensuring continuity of learning for our students as much as we possibly can. And this is particularly important for "vulnerable" learners.

Our education group consists of a college, spread across three campuses, and eight schools. Our schools offer alternative and special provision, meaning the majority of pupils have EHCPs, immediately putting them into the vulnerable group. Others have social workers and require significant and specialist support to safeguard and protect them. In addition, our college offers outstanding SEND provision for 16- to 24-year-olds with a range of moderate to complex needs. And we also define students who are operating at level 1 and NEET (not in education, employment or training) as vulnerable, many of whom have complex lives and needs.

Coronavirus: Supporting vulnerable learners

So, it became clear that we needed a robust plan to ensure that our 2,000-plus vulnerable students could be looked after and protected during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Clearly, the term "vulnerable" covers a wide spectrum and different types of support are needed for children deemed to be within this category. An 18-year-old SEND student with complex needs, studying at college, will be facing very different challenges to an 11-year-old with an EHCP at one of our special schools; or a 16-year-old with a social worker who may have a hugely chaotic home life and dealing with issues such as food poverty.

Without the safety of school, it is a sad fact that some children will be facing an increased threat of violence at home and/or on the streets. As educators, we are working hard to protect these children as much as possible, alongside other government agencies and local authorities, but it is no easy task.

In the first couple of weeks following the government’s directive to close schools, we saw a much lower take-up of on-site provision than expected – a pattern that was mirrored by schools and colleges across the country, with less than 5 per cent of eligible children attending. After the Easter break, the local authority set up a SEND hub at our Bexley campus with the support of our staff, ensuring that any student from across the borough needing on-site provision could be looked after.

This was and remains a positive outcome in terms of the pandemic, as people are more protected from the virus if they stay at home. Yet in terms of social issues and concerns, losing the face-to-face contact with some of our EHCP learners who may be care leavers or have a social worker has been a cause for concern.

Our teaching teams have had to focus on continued remote engagement with learners. Phone calls, visits and ensuring where possible that children and their families have access to the technology needed for online learning are all vital. This regular contact is also crucial to check on the mental health and wellbeing of learners and their families.

I very much welcome the education secretary’s commitment to provide disadvantaged children with laptops and tablets. Our schools will be accessing this equipment and we plan to use bursary funds to support college students who are in "digital poverty". This government funding will aid students’ online learning and enable them to engage with their schools and tutors on a day-to-day basis, which is hugely important for continuity.

Parents/carers’ own digital literacy does, however, play a part in determining how effective online learning is – and further challenges present with Esol learners. Therefore, alongside the distribution of digital equipment, high-risk families must be given additional support via social workers and case workers, covering social and financial challenges.

Directly supporting parents and carers is key. Our staff are providing teaching materials and encouraging students to ensure that their days are structured to provide consistency. The college has recently been selected to provide its specialist SEND teaching resources to the outstanding National Oak Academy – the DfE-backed online learning platform, which has been set up to help parents, carers and teachers educate their children while schools are closed.

There is also the issue of uncertainty in terms of progression, with students feeling anxious about what they will do in September. It is important that schools and colleges remove this uncertainty as much as possible by guaranteeing places for all learners who want to progress.

For Year 11 and Year 13 students, the impact of cancelled exams has been devastating, with many feeling like years of study have been for nothing, putting their future career plans in jeopardy. For more vulnerable learners, this is a big concern and likely to lead to a much higher rate of NEETs in the autumn.

We must ensure that young people have a good range of options to choose from for September. Schools, colleges and universities need to work together to support this generation of young people into FE and HE, making sure they don’t miss out on the opportunities they deserve to have.

For this to be successful, we must make it easy for learners to engage with us, making sure that they receive progression information and have access to careers advice, virtual open days and course information to help inform their next steps.

As we enter the summer term, more of our SEND learners are looking to return to college for both routine and stimulation. We are also seeing an increase in other vulnerable learners returning to school where social workers and education professionals have deemed it safer for them to be there than at home. I pay huge tribute to staff who have continued to support these learners in these extraordinary circumstances.

Social distancing is challenging in an educational setting, particularly with SEND students who may need physical support. However, we remain committed to our learners and have put a variety of measures in place, such as reduced timetables and smaller group sizes.

While lockdown was (and indeed continues to be) essential, it is desperately sad to see the impact of the situation on so many young people, who are having their lives and wings clipped at such a formative time in their lives. But, as a sector, we must play our part in keeping our students safe, motivated and, most importantly, full of hope for the future.

Sam Parrett OBE is chief executive and group principal at London and South East Education Group