Heads have stressed it is important to focus on “quality of education” over “crowd-pleasing arguments about quantity” when considering plans for Covid catch-up support.
Asked to respond to the news that teachers will be asked to increase learning time for pupils as part of the government’s education recovery effort, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) warned against “distractions and policy gimmicks”, arguing that schools need “sufficient funding” to remedy the impact of the pandemic.
Speaking to the BBC today, the newly appointed Covid catch-up tsar, Sir Kevan Collins, said that “we’re going to have to ask teachers to increase learning time for children” and go back over missed topics.
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But Geoff Barton, ASCL general secretary, said: “Our view on catch-up support is that it is important to focus on quality of education rather than crowd-pleasing arguments about quantity.
“Children will have been affected by the impact of the pandemic to greatly varying extents and any additional learning needs to be targeted at those who will most benefit.
“Schools are very good at identifying learning gaps and putting in place appropriate provision. What they need from government is sufficient funding to enable them to do this as effectively as possible.
“Teachers need as few distractions and policy gimmicks as possible, so that they can focus on what they do best - teaching.”
Also responding to the new catch-up tsar’s comments, Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “During Sir Kevan’s time at the Education Endowment Foundation, it became a valuable source of information about ‘what works’ in education.
“The EEF’s evidence has shown that, when it comes to accelerating pupil progress, there are other steps you can take that have significantly more impact than simply lengthening the school day.
“We look forward to working with Sir Kevan on identifying a long-term strategy, based in evidence, which values extracurricular activity and personal development alongside academic recovery.”
Last week, the government announced the appointment of Sir Kevan as its education recovery commissioner to lead a comprehensive programme of catch-up aimed at young people who have lost out on learning during the pandemic.
