Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on parents.

The department recognises that the COVID-19 outbreak has been challenging for pupils and their families. The department has been regularly surveying parents and carers of school pupils throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. This has helped to inform our response on a range of issues and is also helping to shape our education recovery. The reports from these surveys were published on 29 October 2021 on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parent-and-pupil-panel-omnibus-surveys.

The department also commissioned a bespoke sub-study as part of the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) which explored the experiences of the children and their parents during the COVID-19 outbreak. This has helped to inform our response on a range of issues. It is important to note that while this report documents the experiences of children and their parents in the SEED study covered by the COVID-19 outbreak, the department cannot conclude from these analyses that their experiences were as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, these findings cannot be used to evaluate specific government policies including those in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The report from this survey was published on 29 October 2021 on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-development-coronavirus-covid-19-study.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak the department has worked to help parents support their children’s education. The department has published guidance that sets out what they need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges. This guidance is updated regularly and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. The guidance includes links to online resources to aid parents in supporting their child’s mental health and wellbeing as the department acknowledges that some children may be experiencing feelings of anxiety, stress or low mood as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

During periods of restricted attendance, schools have remained open to both vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers, ensuring that those parents who work in key sectors could continue to provide vital services. For those pupils learning from home the department recognises the challenges this has presented to parents and have published guidance which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19. To support access to remote education, the department has distributed over 1.35 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £400 million investment. The department has ensured that children who usually receive benefits-related free school meals have had access to this support during periods of restricted attendance and provided a National Voucher Scheme to support eligible pupils required to stay at home. Over £450 million of voucher e-codes had been redeemed into supermarket gift cards for families during this period. The department has continued to ensure that eligible pupils are offered good quality lunch parcels when they are required to stay home.