Update
NEU calls for urgent action and funds to address effects of Covid-19 FORMER teachers should be encouraged to return to the profession to provide the numbers of staff needed now there will be smaller class sizes, the NEU has told the Prime Minister. That is one of ten proposals set out in the union’s national education recovery plan, which was sent to Boris Johnson two days after the Government was forced to abandon its ambition for all primary school children to return to school before the summer break. Urgent action – backed by significant investment – is now needed to plan for the uncertain future created by Covid-19, the union has told Mr Johnson. The letter, sent by NEU joint general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, says the Government must now invest heavily in education. “While we all hope that there will not be a second spike, or local spikes, we must plan for this possibility,” they wrote. “The plan will require major investment in education, akin to the investment made in the job recovery plan. We think this is absolutely necessary in order to prevent children and young people becoming casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic.” The wide-ranging plan covers the extension of free school meals, the use of public buildings to provide extra teaching spaces, blended learning and ideas for exams and assessment. The union has also told the Government that it will need to make plans for blended learning because children are likely to be
BASELINE DELAY WELCOME, BUT TEST SHOULD BE DROPPED JOINT general secretary of the NEU Mary Bousted has said the decision not to implement the Reception Baseline Assessment in September is the right thing to do but the test should be scrapped altogether. The Department for Education
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Joint General Secretaries Dr Mary Bousted BA (Hons) MA PhD Kevin Courtney
The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA 10 June 2020
Dear Prime Minister The effects of COVID 19 on England’s education system are likely to be prolonged and profound. The majority of pupils will not be returning to school until September at the earliest, but we do not know how much time they will be in school because we cannot predict what measures will need to be taken, then, to ensure that schools do not become vectors for COVID. Whilst we all hope that there will not be a second spike, or local spikes, we must plan for this possibility. It is with these considerations in mind that the National Education Union has developed a 10 point plan for education renewal. The plan is focused on the needs of all children and young people, and in particular those who suffer from disadvantage and deprivation. The plan seeks to address the sense of isolation which is being felt by many children through a summer holiday local offer. It focuses, also, on poor children and young people who need significant additional support so that they can fulfil their potential now, and in their adult lives.
“The plan will require major investment in education, akin to the investment made in the job recovery plan.”
The plan will require major investment in education, akin to the investment made in the job recovery plan. We think this is absolutely necessary in order to prevent children and young people becoming casualties of the COVID pandemic. A ten-point plan for children and young people 1
Disadvantaged children and young people and their families must be a key priority. They must not become casualties of COVID.
The letter urges Government to take action
receiving their education at home and in school, particularly if the R rate spikes again in the autumn, as predicted by scientists. Disadvantaged children are at the heart of the plan, with an urgent focus on a summer holiday offer and supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The union has said that children living in poverty and low-income households must be given the resources they need to learn at home – 700,000 children live in homes without internet access. Laptops must be provided for children who do not have them and they must be provided with access to the (DfE) announced at the end of June that Baseline will be postponed until autumn 2021 because of the challenges created by Covid-19. The DfE said schools had the option to become early adopters of the test to familiarise themselves with it before it becomes statutory. The 20-minute test, which assesses language, communication, literacy and maths, was planned to take place in the first six weeks of school. Mary said: “Schools need to be
internet and online learning. Commenting on the letter, Mary and Kevin said: “We need a clear national plan. The Government must demonstrate leadership and the capacity to work with local authorities and education unions so that plans are implemented in all the regions. The NEU’s ten-point plan addresses significant issues that have to be considered. These issues will need funding and planning. “We look forward to speaking to Government, alongside other education unions and education professionals, about how we get this right, and in good time.” Read the letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson setting out the ten-point plan at neu.org.uk/media/10906/view
focused on supporting children’s learning when they return to school, and Baseline testing would have been a distraction.” She added that while the Government has called off the tests, it is still encouraging schools to become early adopters, despite the fact the test is of no value. “Baseline remains a pointless exercise in accountability,” said Mary. “The union will continue to campaign for its complete withdrawal.”
