Third Report - COVID-19: Support for children’s education

The government agrees, committing to work with ADCS and local authorities to understand reasons for low social care referrals, detailing ongoing data collection, support for LAs, and a £24 million Children’s Social Care recovery fund to safeguard children.

The government agrees, outlining specific actions within its recovery plan including close collaboration with DHSC to assess therapy access, significant funding for mental health services, and investment in mental health support teams in schools for children with SEND.

The government rejects the recommendation for a specific plan to ensure vulnerable and disadvantaged children have access to IT equipment, stating it has already invested significantly and devices are the responsibility of schools for maintenance, while committing to developing a broader strategic approach to technology use in education.

The government agrees, committing to developing metrics to monitor lost learning and write to the Committee by Autumn 2021, while also detailing multiple commissioned studies and evaluations to assess learning loss, catch-up premium use, and intervention effectiveness.

The government accepts the recommendation, stating it will continue the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) in 2021-22 with increased reach and focus on areas of low reach and attainment through operational targets. It commits to monitoring regional spread, engagement, and holding providers accountable for tuition quality through regular reporting and monitoring, with evaluations planned for both years of the NTP.

The government provides a boilerplate introductory statement acknowledging the Committee's report and stating that the document serves as its response.

The government agrees, committing to carry out a collaborative lessons-learned exercise consistent with other cross-government activities, engaging with the Cabinet Office, and continuously analyzing its COVID-19 response by December 2022.

The government acknowledges the concern about low attendance of vulnerable children and describes ongoing work with local authorities on data collection for social care referrals, and highlights the £24 million Children’s Social Care recovery fund and interventions in inadequate local authorities.

The government agrees with the Committee's recommendation, stating it continues to collect and report data on referrals to children's social care, supports local authorities in safeguarding vulnerable children, and has allocated £24 million through the Children’s Social Care recovery fund for regional plans, with a target implementation date of January 2022.

The government agrees with the recommendation but its response focuses on data collection on children's social care referrals and recovery funds, completely failing to address the request to consider clarifying guidance on vulnerable children for schools.

The government acknowledges the concern about reduced social care referrals and lack of national accountability, describing ongoing efforts with local authorities to collect and interpret referral data, support safeguarding, and provide £24 million through the Children’s Social Care recovery fund.

The government agrees with the committee's observation regarding reduced social care referrals, detailing ongoing work with ADCS and LAs to collect and interpret data, and the use of the Vulnerable Children and Young People Survey. It commits £24 million to the Children’s Social Care recovery fund for regional plans and continues to intervene in local authorities rated inadequate for social care services.

The government details specific financial commitments to support children's mental health and wellbeing, including £500 million announced by DHSC for mental health (with £31 million targeting individuals with learning disabilities and autistic people, including £3 million for respite services). Additionally, the Department is investing £79 million to expand mental health in schools support teams to cover 35% of pupils by 2023.

The government acknowledges the committee's concerns regarding the impact of temporary EHC law changes, stating it is working with health departments to assess the pandemic's impact on therapy access and highlighting existing investments in mental health support and services for individuals with learning disabilities and autistic people.

The government acknowledges the committee's concerns about the adequacy and implementation of risk assessments for SEND children, stating it is assessing the pandemic's impact on therapy access and highlighting existing investments in mental health and support for learning disabilities and autistic people.

The government agrees with the committee's observation, detailing its 2020-21 recovery plan for children with SEND, which includes close work with DHSC, NHS England, and Public Health England to assess therapy impacts. It highlights £500 million announced by DHSC for mental health, with £31 million allocated for individuals with learning disabilities and autistic people, and an additional £79 million investment in mental health in schools support teams.

The government acknowledges the committee's concerns regarding the difficulties SEND children faced with remote learning and lack of appropriate resources, stating it is assessing the pandemic's impact on therapy access and highlighting existing investments in mental health support and services for individuals with learning disabilities and autistic people.

The government agrees with the committee's observation, detailing its 2020-21 recovery plan for children with SEND, which includes close work with DHSC, NHS England, and Public Health England to assess therapy impacts. It highlights £500 million announced by DHSC for mental health, with £31 million allocated for individuals with learning disabilities and autistic people, and an additional £79 million investment in mental health in schools support teams.

The government agrees, stating it is working closely with DHSC to assess the pandemic's impact on SEND children's access to therapies and detailing significant funding for mental health support teams and services for autistic children and those with learning disabilities.

The government explicitly disagrees with the implicit recommendation regarding IT equipment provision, justifying its £400 million investment and 1.3 million devices, while outlining future strategic approaches and evaluations but not committing to further provision or addressing the cutbacks mentioned.

The government rejects an implied recommendation regarding ongoing responsibility for IT equipment, stating it has already invested significantly in devices which are now owned and maintained by schools, while committing to developing a strategic approach to technology use in education.

The government disagrees with the committee's observation, citing significant past investment of over £400 million in devices and training. It states that institutions own and maintain the allocated devices, and commits to developing an evidence-based strategic approach to technology use in education while evaluating past interventions.

The government disagrees with the committee's observation, citing significant past investment of over £400 million in devices and training. It states that institutions own and maintain the allocated devices, and commits to developing an evidence-based strategic approach to technology use in education while evaluating past interventions.

The government explicitly disagrees with the implicit recommendation, stating that devices are owned and maintained by institutions using their core budgets, while outlining plans for a future evidence-based strategic approach to technology in education.

The government agrees with the committee's findings regarding disadvantaged children and is actively implementing an education recovery strategy. It is developing metrics, commissioning studies for baseline assessment and ongoing monitoring of learning loss, and evaluating specific interventions to understand their effectiveness.

The government agrees, committing to developing metrics to monitor and reduce year-on-year lost learning, and detailing several commissioned studies and evaluations to track learning loss and the impact of catch-up interventions, with results to be collated to assess overall programme performance.

The government agrees with the Committee's observation regarding the catch-up learning programme, committing to develop metrics to monitor lost learning, commission evaluations of specific interventions, and provide a detailed update to the Committee in Autumn 2021.

The government agrees with the committee's observation, stating it is developing metrics to monitor the education recovery strategy and will report to the Committee in Autumn 2021. It has commissioned Renaissance Learning and Ipsos MORI for baseline assessments and studies on learning loss and catch-up premium spending, and will evaluate specific interventions like the National Tutoring Programme.

The government agrees with the recommendation but describes its ongoing monitoring, target setting for providers, and evaluations without specifically committing to provide the requested precise indicators to the committee.

The government agrees with the committee's observation regarding the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), stating it will continue the NTP in 2021-22 with increased reach and monitor regional spread and engagement. It will set operational targets for providers to ensure minimum reach in low-attainment areas and conduct evaluations for both years of the programme.

The government acknowledges the issues around tutoring market development and quality, detailing how it is continuing and expanding the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) for 2021-22 with increased reach, operational targets for providers, and rigorous quality monitoring to address these challenges.

The government agrees with the committee's observation regarding the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), stating it will continue the NTP in 2021-22 with increased reach and monitor regional spread and engagement. It will set operational targets for providers to ensure minimum reach in low-attainment areas and conduct evaluations for both years of the programme.

The government acknowledges the academic mentor shortfall and describes its continuation and expansion of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) for academic year 2021-22, committing to increased reach, operational targets for provider performance, and ongoing quality monitoring, aligning with its earlier stated intention to increase mentor numbers.