Children in Cornwall are set to benefit from a share of a £1 billion Covid “catch-up” package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time announced by the Prime Minister and Education Secretary.
As plans continue for a full return to education from September, the government has announced £650 million will be shared across state primary and secondary schools over the 2020/21 academic year.
Whilst head teachers will decide how the money is spent, the government expects this to be spent on small group tuition for whoever needs it.
This one-off grant to support pupils in state education recognises that all young people have lost time in education as a result of the pandemic, regardless of their income or background.
Separately, a National Tutoring Programme, worth £350 million, will increase access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people over the 2020/21 academic year.
Welcoming the news, St Austell and Newquay Member of Parliament Steve Double said:
“With so much valuable school time missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic it is crucial that children everywhere are given every opportunity to catch up and get back on a level footing as pupils return to school.”
“I am delighted to see the Government’s commitment of a billion pounds of funding to tackle the impact of lost teaching time, and that it will be left to the teachers, who know their pupils best, on how to use the support locally.”
“I look forward to seeing the funding released for the good of local school pupils as soon as possible.”