Covid: Extra £72m for catch-up learning in Wales

An extra £72m is being spent on schemes to help pupils catch up with missed lessons during lockdown, the Welsh Government has announced.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams said the money would be used to recruit extra staff help pupils in "critical transition years", such as those going from primary to secondary.

Those studying for qualifications will see "bespoke" support, she said.

It comes ahead of the return of some secondary school children next week.

The youngest children in Wales returned to the classroom in February while the remaining primary school children are due to go back to face-to-face teaching on 15 March.

School children in England began going back on Monday.

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The Welsh Conservatives claimed the new Wales cash only brought the UK to where other nations were on catch-up spending.

Ministers said the announcement brings the cash spent per pupil in Wales to £239, the highest in the UK.

"I know that extra help is needed, especially for learners at key stages in their academic careers and in their lives," Ms Williams said.

"As learners continue to go back to face-to-face learning, we are providing this additional funding to ensure support is in place when our young people return to the classroom."

The £72m in cash comes on top of £29m already announced last summer.

The Welsh Government said an 1,800 extra teachers and staff have been recruited to provide more support, double the original target of 900 announced last year.

BBC Wales had been told that £33m will be allocated to local councils to help schools and other childcare settings to meet additional costs accrued during the financial year 2020-21.

Another £39.15m will be allocated for the next financial year, which starts in April.

More primary school children will return to school from next Monday

About £39m comes from the £740m generated by last week's UK government budget.

Welsh ministers have criticised the UK government's policy to returning all pupils to schools at the same time.

At a press conference Ms Williams reiterated that the Welsh Government was following scientific advice in taking a phased approach.

"Back in February, Sage [UK government's scientific advisors] were very clear in their advice to government that a phased return to school was critically important in being able to monitor the impact on the pandemic as we move forward," she said.

"That's what we've been doing here in Wales."

Headteachers union NAHT said while it welcomed the money, they said "it must be used to support high quality teaching and learning, and a long-term evidence-based strategy of wellbeing and education recovery for pupils".

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Conservatives in the Senedd, said the new money announced today would only help close a gap between Wales and other parts of the UK.

A report from the Education Policy Institute last month said Scotland were spending £200 per pupil on catch-up schemes, England £174 and Wales only £88.

"This announcement merely moves us back up there to where the other countries of the United Kingdom are," said Mr Davies.

"We know this is a massive area to cover because many schools have been shut for nearly a year now to the general school population."

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said: "I think we need a national plan; it would be useful to have a bit more detail than we've had so far about the education recovery plan.

"This isn't just a one-off - that lost learning means we need to have a plan over many years, and we need to build up our education workforce overall."