Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide parents with catch-up vouchers for each day their child is absent from school due to COVID-19 in order to help pay for the costs of remote learning.

The department’s priority is for schools to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health.

School attendance is mandatory for all pupils of compulsory school age and it is the department’s priority to ensure that as many children as possible regularly attend school. The department’s current guidance for remote education states that schools affected by the remote education temporary continuity direction must provide remote education for state-funded, school-aged pupils whose attendance would be contrary to public health advice or government guidance or law relating to COVID-19 during the 2021/22 academic year. This means that schools should be offering remote education to pupils who test positive for COVID-19 or present with COVID-19 symptoms, where they are well enough to learn from home. Schools must also have regard to the expectations for remote education published here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk/statutory-obligations.

The government has committed to an ambitious and long-term education recovery plan, including an investment to date of nearly £5 billion to support the tutoring programme, deliver world class training for teachers, provide additional direct recovery funding to schools, and to extend time in colleges by 40 hours a year. This support will help children and young people make up for education lost and get back on track.

The department’s overall direct investment in education recovery includes funding for up to 100 million tutoring hours for 5-19 year olds, the multi-year recovery premium so schools can deliver evidence-based interventions based on pupil needs, summer schools, extra time in 16-19 education and 500,000 training opportunities for school teachers and early years practitioners.

Recovery programmes have been designed to allow early years, school, and college leaders the flexibility to support those pupils most in need, including the most disadvantaged.

Alongside overall investment in education recovery, the department has delivered over 1.7 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education colleges for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £520 million government investment to support access to remote education and online social care services.

The department has previously announced funding to support schools and colleges in providing internet access for disadvantaged pupils whose face-to-face education is disrupted due to the COVID-19 outbreak and has enabled ordering of 4G routers for schools and colleges.