Government school expert quits over 'hugely disappointing' funding for pupils

Plans will help pupils who have lost learning in the pandemic

The government's school expert has quit over 'hugely disappointing' funding for pupils education

Recovery commissioner for England, Sir Kevan Collins, has resigned in a row over the lack of "credible" Covid catch-up funding.

Boris Johnson gave Sir Kevan the job in February of developing a long-term plan to help pupils make up for lost learning during the pandemic.

But on Wednesday he stepped down saying the government's funding for the plan "falls far short of what is needed".

It came after government announced it will give over a billion pounds to help support pupils in England whose education has been disrupted during the coronavirus pandemic.

But teaching unions and education experts said this is nowhere near enough money and have called the announcement "hugely disappointing".

Funding for schools is a decision made by devolved governments so while these plans currently only apply to schools in England, further announcements are expected to be made by the leaders of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What did Kevan Collins say?

Sir Kevan Collins said the funding for school recovery "does not come close" to what was needed

Sir Kevan had been responsible for overseeing efforts to help schools in England recover from the disruption of the pandemic and lockdowns, which has seen pupils studying from home and exams cancelled over two academic years.

He had reportedly called for funding for 100 extra hours of teaching per pupil - including for sports, music and the arts. But any extra teaching time, or longer school days, will now depend on getting further funding from the spending review.

His resignation letter to Boris Johnson said: "When we met last week, I told you that I do not believe it will be possible to deliver a successful recovery without significantly greater support than the government has to date indicated it intends to provide."

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister is hugely grateful to Sir Kevan for his work in helping pupils catch up and recover from the effects of the pandemic.

"The government will continue to focus on education recovery and making sure no child is left behind with their learning, with over £3bn committed for catch up so far."

Extra funding of £1.4bn for pupils in England is being promised

The recovery plan, which is on top of the £1.7bn already announced, will include £1bn for 100 million hours of tutoring and £250m for teacher training and development.

Tutoring will be targeted at students who are most in need of support, but it will not be something all pupils get.

There had been reports that a catch-up plan could include a longer school day for children - but funding for any more recovery plans will be looked at in the future.

"Young people have sacrificed so much over the last year and as we build back from the pandemic, we must make sure that no child is left behind," said Mr Johnson.

The amount of funding announced is lower than had been previously thought - with the Education Policy Institute (EPI) working out that a recovery plan would cost £13.5bn.

The research group, which warned primary pupils had lost up to two months of learning in reading and three months in maths, said the extra funding equalled around £50 per pupil per year.

The support was lower than in other countries, said the EPI, with catch-up funding so far in England worth £310 per pupil over three years, compared with £1,600 in the United States and £2,500 in the Netherlands.

What's the reaction been to the new funding?

Pupils are currently learning remotely from home

Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said the government's response "shows a failure to recognise the scale of learning loss".

Paul Whiteman, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, spoke out against the announcement saying "education recovery cannot be done on the cheap".

But the heads' union leader welcomed that there was no plan to extend the school day, which could have caused "more harm than good".

But the man in charge of coming up with ideas for education recovery, Sir Kevan Collins, said: "The investments in teaching quality and tutoring announced today offer evidence-based support to a significant number of our children and teachers. But more will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge."

Labour's Education Secretary Kate Green said the announcement "makes a mockery of the prime minister's claim that education is a priority".

Labour's recovery proposals included breakfast clubs and mental health support, as well as tutoring and teacher development.