EPI on Education Recovery
Child povertyEducation recovery
We agree with the report's conclusions that overcoming the pandemic is possible and that it should serve as a catalyst for sustained improvements in education.
Commenting on the Education Policy Institute's analysis paper of its preliminary research findings on education recovery, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The National Education Union welcomes this important initial analysis by the Education Policy Institute looking at the scale of the challenge to help young people and their schools recover from the pandemic.
"The educational divide has been growing over recent years. As the report points out British education has been blighted by increasing child poverty and that left many children extremely vulnerable when the pandemic struck.
"We agree with the report's conclusions that overcoming the pandemic is possible and that it should serve as a catalyst for sustained improvements in education. The scale of learning lost cannot be overcome by some short term, piecemeal measures such as catch-ups. This will require years of work and investment, not just in school but also extending the post-16 offer which has been cut so hard over the last decade."
"The report exposes the inadequacy of the Government plan to spend just £250 per pupil on educational recovery, whereas the United States are spending £1,600 per pupil and the Netherlands £2,500.
"We agree schools need a multi-year £15 billion plan but for the plan to succeed we must also end the blight of child poverty – no longer can we allow children to come to school hungry."
2021-080-NEU
EPI education recover premliminary analysis
The estimated long-run economic costs are just the costs of lost learning for today's school-age children. a policy or funding package which only seeks to reverse the impact of the pandemic will not go far enough.