The government has announced the appointment of Sir Kevan Collins as its education recovery commissioner to oversee its catch-up programme aimed at dealing with lost learning owing to disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sir Kevan will be leading the programme after 30 years in the education sector. Most recently, he was chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation.

“In his new role, he will work with government to deliver measures that will support children who have missed out on face-to-face education due to extended school closures,” a government statement said.

“This will include addressing factors such as curriculum content and quantity of teaching time in the coming months, to ensure the impact the pandemic has had on learning is addressed as quickly and comprehensively as possible.”

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Prime minister Boris Johnson said: “I am absolutely determined that no child will be left behind as a result of the pandemic.

“Our top priority is to get schools open again and, once they are, we will make sure that teachers and students are equipped with the resources and the time they need to make up for lost learning.

“I am delighted that Sir Kevan has been appointed to lead this vital work - his experience and expertise will help ensure every young person is supported to catch up on their education, and gain the skills and knowledge they need to be able to seize opportunities in future.”

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Sir Kevan brings a wealth of experience in education policy that I know will be invaluable in supporting all the young people who have been impacted by the pandemic.

“He will be a tremendous asset to those young people, their families and everyone working in education, who have my lasting gratitude for their efforts to support young people throughout the pandemic. 

“I look forward to working with Sir Kevan as we deliver our existing National Tutoring Programme that is already reaching tens of thousands of young people who need it most, expand our catch up provision for this year and work on the longer-term recovery to make sure every young person has the opportunity to progress and fulfil their potential.”

Robert Halfon, chair of the Commons’ Education Select Committee, told Tes he hoped the plan would extend beyond the end of the pandemic to be used to help pupils catch up in the long term.

“This is a really important step forward and suggests the government really means business to help pupils catch up, not just for coronavirus,” he said.

“The £1 billion [of additional funding announced] was important but it was just a fund for catch-up - this looks like as serious long term plan for it. There is now a recognition from Downing Street that school closures are the four horsemen of the education apocalypse.”