Over the last 18 months, schools, colleges and universities have faced highly unique challenges in the face of this pandemic. As we now slowly emerge from this unprecedented disruption to our lives, As both a mother and an MP, I was encouraged to hear my ministerial colleague, Nick Gibb MP, Schools Standards Minister, tell Members this week during a debate on education recovery that “No child’s long-term prospects should be damaged by this pandemic”. This is why I am pleased the Department for Education has established a programme of over £3 billion in funding to help with education recovery due to the pandemic. This includes:
Schools funding
- £1 billion for the National Tutoring Programme which will provide up to 6 million, 15-hour tutoring courses for disadvantaged school children
- £250 million has been set aside to provide up to 500,000 teachers with world class training and £400 million to support early years practitioners.
- over £42 million has been allocated to extend contracts and grants which enable schools, colleges, families, and local authorities to support thousands of children with SEND.
- To help support families of children with SEND, £40.8 million was provided for the Family Fund during 2020-21, including £13.5 million to respond to the impact of the outbreak of coronavirus. This funding has helped to support over 80,000 low-income families raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses.
- Funding will also be provided to enable some Year 13 students to repeat their final year.
- Over the past year the Department has provided over £400 million in funding to deliver over 1.3 million laptops and tablets for children who were learning remotely during the school closures.
Further funding includes:
- £18 million ‘Growth Fund’ to support further and higher education to expand Higher Technical Education. The funding will enable providers to invest in equipment and develop business links with employers in the digital, construction and health and science sectors.
- £10 million for Institutes of Technology to develop and deliver higher technical short and modular course in STEM disciplines such as engineering, manufacturing, construction and digital. These courses will be available from Autumn 2021.
- £2 million to support the development and delivery of high-quality modular training, focused on upskilling employees to help address future skills gaps in high value manufacturing.
Improving School Buildings
- £483 million in investment from the Conditional Improvement Fund (CIF) to help improve school facilities.
- £200 million to be made available to Further Education colleges, which is part of the £1.5 billion of investment in FE estates over the next five years.
Like families across the country and Mid Sussex, this past year has been one my family will not forget. This said, I remain optimistic that through the immense success of the vaccine programme, coupled with the Government’s Education Recovery Plan, we can begin to look towards a less insecure academic environment for our young people.
I want to finish by including a final quote from my ministerial colleague, the Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP, in this week’s debate:
“We will continue to ensure that no child suffers long-term damage to their prospects as a result of the pandemic, ensuring that young people move on to the next stage of their education and careers. We will ensure that schools continue to be able to support children in catching up lost education caused by the lockdown. The most vulnerable children are always at the heart of our concerns and central to our policy making and decisions.
Links
For the debate on Education Recovery, click here