Williamson must “act now to ensure all pupils can learn remotely”, says Labour

Kate Green has demanded that Gavin Williamson “act now to ensure all pupils can learn remotely” as schools face the challenge of switching to online learning for the vast majority of students during the third lockdown in England.

Responding to a statement on remote learning and the cancellation of exams this year, delivered by the minister in parliament today, the Shadow Education Secretary slammed Williamson over his management of schools in the pandemic.

Green told MPs in parliament this afternoon: “It is disappointing that he didn’t make a New Year’s resolution to avoid U-turns for chronic incompetence. Once again, where the Secretary of State goes, chaos and confusion follows.”

The Shadow Education Secretary highlighted the Ofqual estimate that 1.78 million children do not currently have access to a laptop or tablet and asked the Secretary of State to guarantee that every child will be able to learn remotely.

Green said: “At every stage of this pandemic, young people have been an afterthought for this government and now we’re back where we were nine months ago – schools closed and exams cancelled.

“There is time to act, but the Secretary of State must act now to ensure all pupils can learn remotely, that families are supported and the most vulnerable are safeguarded.”

She criticised the government for failing to plan for exams being cancelled: “Months ago, the Education Secretary gave a cast-iron commitment that exams would go ahead… We should have known they were doomed to be cancelled.

“I wanted exams to go ahead fairly, but I was always clear there should have been a plan B if that was not possible. For months there was no sign of any such plan, although the risk that exams couldn’t happen has always been predictable.”

Labour called on the Education Secretary in November last year to set out a “credible” plan for exams as Covid cases rose, including a “plan B” in the event that school exams were cancelled as they were in the 2019/2020 academic year.

On vocational exams, due to be sat this week, Green said: “He’s failing to show leadership on the exams taking place in January and he’s leaving it simply to schools and colleges what they should do in difficult circumstances.”

The Shadow Secretary of State for Education asked the minister: “Will he now do the right thing and cancel this week’s BTEC exams, as parents, colleges and the Association of Colleges are calling for?”

Green accused Williamson of having “refused to listen” to the concerns of professionals on the frontline throughout Covid, telling him he could “make it up to them today” and asking whether there is a vaccination plan for school staff.

Williamson had used his statement this afternoon to set out education “contingency plans”. He confirmed that early years settings will remain open in the national lockdown while schools will close for all except key worker and vulnerable children.

Green highlighted that while early years settings remain open to all children, “the Secretary of State has failed to explain how this will be safe for staff and families”. She asked him to set out the scientific advice he has received on the issue.

Labour-affiliated trade union UNISON called on the government on Tuesday to also close nurseries to all except vulnerable children and those of key workers, warning that leaving them open “puts staff and communities at risk”.

Williamson told MPs that the government has purchased more than one million laptops and tablets and delivered 560,000 of those to schools and local authorities. He said that 750,000 will have been delivered to schools by the end of next week.

The minister also said the government is securing deals with mobile providers to ensure free access to educational websites. Green asked in response whether the data deal would take effect immediately.

Williamson told parliament that GCSEs, A-Levels and AS-Level exams would be cancelled this year and declared that “this year, we’re going to put our trust in teachers rather than algorithms”, unlike the approach initially pursued last year.

Noting that “the impact of this pandemic means it is not possible to have these exams this year”, he claimed the details needed to be “fine-tuned”. He said assessments would be given based on “teacher-assessed grades”.

The Education Secretary also this afternoon announced for the first time, in response to a question from Sheffield Central Labour MP Paul Blomfield, that SATs exams in primary schools will also be scrapped this year.

On free school meals, the Education Secretary said the government will provide funding for schools to offer “food parcels or meals to eligible children” and ensure a national voucher scheme is in place while schools remain closed.

Labour shadow ministers this morning wrote to the Education Secretary, demanding that the government “get every child online” and support schools to provide remote learning during the lockdown with a set of five proposals.