Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help re-engage children and young people in their education as covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government provided extensive support for schools and acted swiftly to help minimise the impact on pupils’ education.

The Department knows that the COVID-19 outbreak has caused particular challenges for children who may already have been disengaged from education. That is why we are working closely with local authorities and schools to help them re-engage pupils, including providing best practice guidance.

Since June 2020, the Department has announced over £3 billion of additional funding to support education recovery. Recovery programmes have been designed to allow early years, school, and college leaders the flexibility to support those children and young people who have been most impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Department is delivering a number of programmes this summer, including the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme and the summer schools programme, to support children, young people and their families. The Department’s Wellbeing for Education Return programme also helps education staff support the wellbeing and resilience of pupils, students, staff, parents and carers to respond to the immediate pressures of the COVID-19 outbreak.

It is vital that pupils attend school to minimise the longer-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their education, wellbeing and wider development, and that is why education continues to be prioritised as restrictions are relaxed.