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There is no doubt that Covid-19 has caused significant disruption to children’s lives and there is understandable concern about their educational progress. This has only been exacerbated by the recent outcry about the level of funding announced by the government to support their “catch-up” plans, which resulted in the resignation of Sir Kevan Collins. In addition, the current narrative around “catch-up” does not take account of children’s social and emotional needs as we move forward, focusing primarily on educational outcomes. Moreover, the Government “catch-up” plan is not clear about its long-term view. We don’t know what the ongoing impact might be, and children will need a prolonged period of additional support to avoid falling through the net.
The impact of Covid-19 on the education sector is well documented. Schools experienced partial closures due to national lockdown for the first time in March 2020, with a second round of partial closures from January to March 2021. With schools now open to all pupils, the focus is on how to recover from this disruption. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the narrative in the media and policy recommendations focuses on the impact of school closures on children, with talk of learning loss, and “catch-up” plans. Disappointingly, the impact on teachers and ways to support them moving forward has been far less prominent.
The importance of evidence when making decisions about the implementation of services is now well understood. What Works organisations such as the Education Endowment Foundation and the Early Intervention Foundation place evidence at the heart of their work as a means of distinguishing between programmes that work and those that do not. This evidence base is important in ensuring that resources are used to support the implementation of programmes that will make a difference to the target group. This reliance on evidence is going to be vital in Covid-19 recovery plans, as programmes to support all those affected by the pandemic are put in place.
The theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge, asking us to “Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.”.
New guidance from Public Health England provides more evidence of the interconnected nature of health, care and education, and of the fundamental role early years practitioners play in supporting young children’s speech, language and communication development. But with the early years sector struggling to survive in the wake of the pandemic, many children may miss out on this much needed support. Where is the support for the early years sector?
Starting school is a significant developmental milestone that can cause anxiety at the best of times. So, what impact will the global pandemic have on school starters this year?
Many professionals within the early years sector are understandably angry at the government’s record around the early years given its crucial importance in children’s life. These include issues around insufficient funding, the development of new frameworks without genuine sector consultation and the lack of focus on supporting pre-school settings. We are concerned that this frustration has led to misunderstandings being widely shared about a programme designed to support early language skills, and this may prove harmful for supporting informed decision making.
During this crisis, central government has provided unprecedented levels of financial support for employers, employees and self-employed workers.
In the wake of Covid-19 related nursery and school closures, the quality of the home learning environment is more important than ever. We know that very young children depend on high quality interaction to support their cognitive, language, social and emotional development and the current crisis only serves to emphasise the need for good quality programmes that support families in providing the best start for their children.
