Labour: Tories “risk failing a generation” with poor Covid lost learning plans

Labour has warned that the government “risks failing a generation of children” as just one in six pupils on free school meals will benefit from programmes to help them catch up on lost learning during Covid.

The party criticised the government today after a recent parliamentary question revealed that its funding of the National Tutoring Programme, for approved bodies offering subsidised tuition, will support just 17% of those on free school meals.

The opposition has highlighted that this means over 1.1 million children on free school meals, who are the most disadvantaged and most likely to fall behind their peers in the pandemic, will miss out on this catch-up programme.

Commenting on the shortfall, Wes Streeting said: “It is completely unacceptable that the government’s plans will see the vast majority of pupils in most need of help unable to get additional tuition to make up for the learning they have lost.”

The party also pointed out another recent ministerial answer, which showed that fewer than one in five of the mentors promised under the scheme are in place and the rest are not expected to be working until spring next year.

Labour’s shadow minister for schools added: “The government is failing to support the children who need it the most, and breaking promises to parents and schools about the funding that will be available.

“Ministers must urgently get a grip, bring this additional funding forward, and ensure that no pupil misses out on the support they need.”

Downing Street announced a £1bn Covid catch-up plan for schools in June, with £350m earmarked for the NTP. Labour has said its analysis of the responses from the government show that only £191m of that £350m has been allocated.

Ministers confirmed at the end of last month that the £350m pledged to deliver on extra tuition as part of the pandemic response will cover two years of tutoring instead of one, as initially announced by Boris Johnson earlier this year.

The government said in June that the remaining £650m in the £1bn catch-up plan would be handed to schools as a one-off premium for 2020-21 to “ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time”.

Labour has also raised concerns that this money allocated to schools to help children catch up on lost learning is being used to fund a shortfall in funding provided by central government for schools to pay for coronavirus safety precautions.

Reports emerged last month of schools across the country being forced to use existing budgets to deal with the financial challenges of the pandemic after the government ended its scheme reimbursing schools for Covid-related expenses.