Debate on Covid19: Impact on Young
Children’s
Education at British Parliament
Dr Mozammel Haque
Labour Member for
Stretford and Urmston, Kate Green, asked the following urgent question on 28
June 2021 in the House of Commons: (Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary
of State for Education if he will make a statement on the impact of coronavirus
on children and young people’s attendance in education settings.
The Secretry of State of Education
Gavin Williamson
The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “The investment on I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. This Government are absolutely focused on returning society back to normal as soon as possible, and that includes in our schools, colleges and right across the education sector. As I have made clear throughout the pandemic, my top priority has been to keep children in school. Indeed, as I speak today, millions of children have been back in the classroom since 8 March, learning with their friends and teachers. As I am sure the House will agree, that is exactly where they belong. The vast majority of schools are open—99.8% of state-funded schools were open on 24 June—benefiting children who have given up so much during the pandemic.
The Secretary of
State for Education continued, “On Back in February, the Prime Minister set out
an extensive road map. We need to continue to be careful to complete this
cautious but irreversible road map to freedom. We understand the frustration of
parents and pupils who may feel that they are being asked to isolate
unnecessarily. As I have said throughout the pandemic, children are best off in
school. As we continue with our educational recovery, it is vital that absence
is minimised as far as possible, and that children and young people attend
school. I am looking carefully every day at how we manage the balance between
safeguarding children’s education and reducing transmission of the virus, because
I know that too many children are still having their education disrupted, no
matter how good the remote education they receive.
Gavin Williamson, replied, “The investment on T he new Health Secretary and I have already discussed these matters, and I am working with him across my Department, as well as with scientists and public health experts, to take the next steps. However, as the House is aware, some restrictions remain in place in schools. I want to see those restrictions, including bubbles, removed as quickly as possible, along with wider restrictions in society. I do not think that it is acceptable for children to face restrictions over and above those on wider society, especially as they have given up so much to keep older generations safe over the past 18 months. Further steps will be taken to reduce the number of children who have to self-isolate, including looking at the outcomes of the daily contact testing trial, as we consider a new model for keeping children in schools and colleges. We constantly assess all available data, and we expect to be able to confirm plans to lift restrictions and bubbles as part of step 4. Once that decision has been made, we will issue guidance immediately to schools.
The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “The investment on I would like once again to put on the record this Government’s sincere thanks to all teachers for their dedication and work at this time. My commitment to the House and to the children of Britain is that, as we open up wider society, we will stick to the principle that children’s education and freedom comes first.
Labour Member for Stretford and Urmston asked,
“Data published yesterday showed that 375,000 children were out of school last
week because of coronavirus. It is nine weeks until the new academic year
begins, but we have no idea what the Secretary of State plans to keep them in
class. School leaders dread another last-minute announcement. They need time to
put plans in place, and their staff desperately need a break over the summer.
Kate Green continued, “Time and again, Labour has called for mitigations
to keep children learning, including ventilation and Nightingale classrooms.
Why has that not happened? Will the Secretary of State clarify why he abandoned
the policy of masks in schools when cases were rising and masks were still
required in shops and indoor spaces? Will he share the scientific evidence that
led to that decision?
She said, “Ministers’
negligence on letting the delta variant into our country is keeping hundreds of
thousands of children out of the classroom. The Secretary of State must act now
or make way for someone who will.
The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “The investment on daily contact testing, that is something that Public Health England has been running trials on. We expect it to report back to the Department of Health and Social Care and to us in the coming weeks. We are very clear that we want action to be taken, and that is why we very much want to see the lifting of more restrictions and of the bubbles in schools as part of the next step. As the hon. Lady will appreciate, that decision has to be made across Government as part of the next stage of our road map, but we will of course be informing schools and keeping them up to date as to progress in plenty of time before the start of the next term.
(Birmingham, Hall
Green) (Lab)
Labour Member for
Birmingham, Hall Green, Tahir Ali, said, “The number of children self-isolating
has quadrupled during this month because of increases in cases of covid.
Following this sharp rise, more children are now able to learn online from home with the IT
equipment and internet access provided to schools by the Government. Hundreds
of families in my constituency of Birmingham, Hall Green have benefited from
the scheme, but I am now hearing that many of the devices have been either
disabled or taken back by the schools. That has a significant impact on
learning, especially for those who are living in poverty. It is important that
access to IT equipment should not be disrupted. Will the Secretary of State
therefore ensure that children keep the laptops and return them only when they
leave school at year 6 or 11?”
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “The investment that we made in
IT equipment is there to help pupils. Although those laptops are the property
of the schools, we very much want the schools to prioritise using them to help
children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. I will certainly take up the
hon. Gentleman’s point and look in more detail at whether we can give more
guidance and a stronger steer to schools to really emphasise that point.
Labour Member for Slough, Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, said, “The Government have consistently let down our children. To bring down case numbers and to reduce school closures, the likes of me advocated for teachers to be vaccinated, for a circuit break during half-term last year and for other sensible measures, but we were ignored. Now, shockingly, one child in 20 was out of school last week and case numbers are still rising. Will the Secretary of State commit to reviewing the use of the bubble system and to implementing the recommendations now, rather than waiting until the autumn?”
The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “I will
happily pass on a copy of Hansard to the hon. Gentleman, so he can
reference what I said earlier in response to this urgent question.”
Labour Member for
East Ham, Stephen Timms, said, “My hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and
Urmston (Kate Green) pointed out that there is a risk, as things stand, that
children may have to isolate and stay at home when they should be taking part
in the holiday activities and food programme over the summer. Can the Secretary
of State give an assurance that, whatever happens, children who are entitled to
access food support over the summer will still be able to do that?”
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “I can absolutely assure the
right hon. Gentleman that that is the case. Obviously, the Department for Work
and Pensions has its covid support fund, which is available for local
authorities to provide free school meals. Any changes as part of the road map
that would lead to the lifting of further restrictions and of bubbles within
schools would also take effect for the summer holidays, so children who wanted
to take part in holiday activity and food programmes would be able to do so without
operating within a bubble system.
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “We have always, at all stages,
done as much as possible to work with all devolved Administrations across the
UK and we will continue to do so, be it on mental health issues, the awarding
of grades, or education recovery. Let me take the opportunity to put on the
record my thanks for the work that I had the opportunity to do with Peter Weir,
who was the Minister for Education in Northern Ireland. We had a very close
working relationship and I am very appreciative of all the work he undertook
for the children and students in Northern Ireland in his time as Minister.”
Labour Member for
Mitcham and Morden, Siobhain McDonagh, said, “Children in the most
disadvantaged areas are almost twice as likely to be those self-isolating, such
as year 6 in St Mark’s Primary School in my constituency, but they are also
likely to be on the wrong side of the digital divide, with 23 pupils at St
Mark’s still without the kit and connectivity required to log in and learn from home when isolating. With every click
widening the attainment gap, will the Secretary of State today back my campaign
to ensure that every child entitled to free school meals has access to data and
a device at home?”
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “This is very much why we
invested hundreds of millions of pounds in the roll-out of 1.3 million devices
to be able to support schools, but most importantly to be able to support
children, as the hon. Lady set out.”
(Romsey and
Southampton North) (Con)
Conservative
Member for Romsey and Southampton North, Caroline Nokes, said, “an my right
hon. Friend reassure me, as we look to 19 July and the end of the summer term,
that there can be no question of a return to bubbles and self-isolation when
children return in the autumn?”
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied I do not want to pre-empt the
decision across Government on the next stage, but our direction is very clear
about lifting the restrictions and ensuring that children are not in a
situation where they have to bubble. That is very much part of the course of
the road map, and of course we would very much expect that our children would
not be facing that in September, as my right hon. Friend has said.
Green Party Member
for Brighton, Pavilion, Caroline Lucas, said, “The Secretary of State says that
his priority is to keep children in school, yet hundreds of thousands of them
are missing yet more precious time in the classroom as well as important
end-of-term rituals, and families are angry and desperate. For many months,
organisations such as the Health and Safety Executive and the Royal Society of
Medicine have been saying that one of the basic things that needs to be done to
protect our children is to ensure better ventilation in all classrooms. People
who live in New York, for example, can consult a public website to see the ventilation
status of every single classroom in the state, and there has been serious
investment in ventilation and filtration there. Why has the Secretary of State
not done something similar here to introduce those basic
Labour Member for Bethnal Green and Bow, Rushanara Ali, said, “With nearly 400,000 children and young people out of school just last week for covid-related reasons, the Government’s failure to secure our borders against the delta variant has demonstrated the damage that it is doing to children and their future. Given those failures and the incompetence, frankly, of the Secretary of State over the last year in getting a grip and supporting schoolchildren, is it not time that he worked with the Chancellor to get the funding that is needed for catch-up, as was recommended by the former catch-up tsar, Sir Kevan Collins? There is a shortfall of £13.6 billion. Is it not time that that money was provided so that children do not continue to suffer because of the mistakes of the Secretary of State’s Government?”
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied The hon. Lady seems to be
blissfully unaware that we have already invested over £3 billion in supporting
children to be able to catch up in our schools. As she requested, we will
continue to work closely with the Treasury—as we have been doing—as we approach
the spending review to see what further action is needed to be able to support
our children.
Liberal Democrat Member for Twickenham, Munira Wilson, said, “Over the past few weeks, I have been touring secondary schools in my constituency. The current self-isolation policy, which, incidentally, resulted in a Twickenham secondary having to close its doors entirely last week for several days, combined with lockdowns is not just impacting academic progress; the No.1 issue, according to heads and safeguarding leads, is the mental health impact. As well as ensuring support for academic catch-up, may I urge the Secretary of State to do everything he can to speed up the roll-out of mental health support teams in schools? Will he also please speak to
the Health
Secretary to provide urgent additional capacity for tier 4 child and adolescent
mental health services beds because too many children are being turned away?
From the evidence that I am being presented with, it is not exaggeration to say
that children’s lives are at risk because teachers and school counsellors just
do not have the skills to deal with those cases.
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “The hon. Lady raises a very
thoughtful and important issue. I am very much with her in that I want to see
the roll-out of mental health support in schools as quickly as is feasibly
possible. That also plays an incredibly important role in tackling some of the
further pressure that is then put at the door of CAMHS services. I am very
happy to take up the point that she raised with the Department for Health and
Social Care, which runs CAMHS, as to how best we can support children in those
early stages and, if there is a need for clinical intervention, how that can be
best supported and swiftly supported in order to be able to deal with the
problem early on.
Teachers and school staff in Warrington North have moved heaven and earth over the past 18 months to try to support the education and welfare of our town’s young people in the face of last-minute, changing and often contradictory guidance. Nowhere is this more the case than in special educational needs and disability educational settings, especially as testing can be traumatic or, indeed, impossible for some children with special needs. When will schools know what is to happen in September and, can the Secretary of State confirm that this will be
shared with schools well in advance of the summer holiday to ensure that
staff are not required to work across their summer leave, and that specific
guidance will be provided for SEND schools rather than their being an
after-thought?
The Secretary of
State for Education, Gavin Williamson, replied, “The hon. Lady Specific
guidance is always provided for special educational needs schools. I can ensure
that the detail on the gov.uk website is available to the hon. Lady so she
might be able to read it if she is interested in doing so. I absolutely assure
her that, as I have said in answer to other questions, we will provide that
information at the earliest possible stage.
Labour Member for Coventry South, Zaeah Sultana, said, “The Secretary of State has again been found sleeping at the wheel. One in 20 pupils were self-isolating last week, and today my office was told of another Coventry school being forced to close. Teachers are doing the best they can, but with mitigation rules relaxed and without additional resources, the delta variant will continue to rip through schools. Why were masks required in class in April but not now, given that case rates were lower then than they are now? Will he abandon his “feeble” catch-up plan—not my words, but those of his former adviser? Will he now put in the resources needed to mitigate covid and for educational catch-up—that is £15 billion—as his adviser recommended?
The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson,
replied, “I am not sure whether the hon. Lady is arguing for more restrictions
or fewer—her question did not seem to be that coherent. Perhaps if she can
write to me to clarify whether she is pro restrictions or against then, I would
be happy to answer.
