Education bosses have written to Gavin Williamson demanding an additional £5.8 billion to help pupils in England whose learning has been affected by the Covid pandemic.

A letter to the education secretary from influential school leaders sets out recovery funding proposals and catch-up plans for the next three years.

It says that not investing in young people’s futures at this “crucial moment” would lead to “greater costs down the line”.

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The proposals, as well as increasing funding generally, include “significant investment” in mental health support teams and additional support around extracurricular activities.

Signatories include Geoff Barton, of the Association of School and College Leaders; David Hughes, of the Association of Colleges; Leora Cruddas, of the Confederation of School Trusts; and Lucy Heller, of Ark Schools.

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The group welcomed the government’s promise to provide £3 billion to help pupils make up for lost learning, but said it was not enough.

“As you know, the pandemic has had a profound impact on schools and colleges and the lives of pupils,” the letter says.

“Two lengthy periods of closure have left many students behind where they should be.

“We welcome the £3 billion the government has committed over the past two years, particularly for tuition and teacher professional development, but, as you have said yourself, this won’t be enough to deal with the scale of the challenge left by Covid.

“We know that public finances are squeezed but choosing not to invest in the future of young people - at this crucial moment - will only lead to greater costs down the line.

“We cannot afford a lower skilled economy. Nor can we afford the cost of ever-worsening mental health challenges or the social costs of school dropout.”

The letters comes after Labour criticised the government for a series of failures following research showing that schools in the UK had suffered longer closures than those in almost all other European countries.

The authors of the letter also draw attention to the greater educational impact on children from disadvantaged families, and say their plan aims to target these groups.

They add that nurseries, schools and colleges should be given flexibility with funding to best address the needs of their students.

“We see [the proposals] as the minimum required to avoid serious long-term damage,” they say.

The letter also recommends how funding should be allocated, with £150m per year spent to increase hours for disadvantaged two-year-olds, a £1.2 bn spend on a “catch-up” premium for persistently disadvantaged students and £250m per year to be spent on national coverage from mental health support teams.

Other proposed spending includes £30m for a pilot of 200 better-funded nurseries in disadvantaged areas and £300m on a post-16 premium.