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Another lockdown has again put us into a critical situation for educational inequality. As the FEA, our members’ focus is and has always been on ensuring that all young people, particularly the most disadvantaged, are able to access and benefit fairly from the education system.
We know that the longer schools & colleges are closed for most children, the bigger the impact will be on the most disadvantaged young people. Yet, this is the situation we find ourselves in, so we need action now to ensure all children are able to access & engage with education.
We know Covid has affected children from disadvantaged backgrounds the most, so further scenario plans need to be created and communicated to minimise the likely and possible further disruption to their learning and development in lockdown and beyond. http://bit.ly/3niqpYo
Together we can make a difference for children across the country but we need policy efforts to support this. We are calling for:
1.We call for the government and wider society to support schools and colleges to ensure that all young people have digital access for remote learning (including access to laptops and wifi)
2. We call for support & resource for continued pastoral care for children including fulfilment of the commitment to continue Free School Meals & support & resource for schools and youth services (currently under severe threat) to support young people through this time.
3. We call for renewed focus on catch-up provision with additional funding targeted at the most persistently disadvantaged young people, including through the @NTProgramme
4. We call for urgent clarity on the new plans for exams, not only for the summer but also for exams such as BTECS scheduled this month
5. We call for policy efforts to minimise impact of disruption on #WideningParticipation to #HE and retention for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Higher Education
Finally, it is critical to remember that even before Covid these inequalities existed. Once the emergency is over, policy efforts need to remain focused on tackling disadvantage and inequalities that have only been exacerbated by the current situation.
