Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of extending the summer school term into the summer holiday period in response to the disruption to education caused by the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government is committed to helping all children and young people make up education lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Department has appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner to oversee a long-term plan for education recovery. Sir Kevan will engage with parents, pupils, and teachers in the development of this broader approach and review how evidence-based interventions can be used to address the impact the COVID-19 outbreak has had on education. We will share further details in due course.

Schools are of course free to offer summer activities to pupils should they so wish. We are making £200 million available to secondary schools to fund a short summer school, offering a blend of academic education and enrichment activities. We are recommending a focus on incoming Year 7 pupils, but schools are free to target those most in need of support.