Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department is collecting from schools to (a) monitor and (b) assess covid-19 catch-up activity.

The department is collecting a range of data from schools to monitor and assess COVID-19 catch-up activity. We have commissioned Renaissance Learning, and their subcontractor the Education Policy Institute, to collect data from a sample of schools to provide a baseline assessment of education lost and catch-up needs for pupils in schools in England, and to monitor progress over the course of the academic year 2020/21 and Autumn term 2021. We are also seeking commercial agreements for further academic years.

The department has a contract with Ipsos MORI, in consortium with Sheffield Hallam University and the Centre for Education and Youth, to undertake a mixed-methods study design (including gathering data through surveys of school leaders, interviews, and case studies) to examine how schools are tackling the issue of lost learning. Results from the study will be used to understand how the catch-up premium funds have been spent and how best to support schools to tackle learning loss.

We are also collecting data from schools on specific education recovery programmes. For example, the department receives data on schools’ take-up of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), using this data to track progress against delivery, and has commissioned independent evaluators to use this data to understand the effectiveness of the NTP. Ofsted are also conducting thematic reviews into tutoring and teacher quality. Their findings will be informed by their interviews with schools.

The department is mindful of the burden that data collections can put on schools and has robust processes in place to ensure the value of collecting the data outweighs the potential additional burdens.