The COVID social mobility and opportunities study found that 80% of 16/17 year-olds feel their academic progress suffered as a result of the pandemic
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“This study is a much-needed reminder that the educational impact of the pandemic is still being felt by young people across the country.
“The education recovery money provided by the government has been nowhere near enough to mitigate against the major disruption experienced over the last two years.
“Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly those without access to digital devices for online learning or suitable spaces in which to work, have been severely impacted and it is likely that there will be further disruption this winter because of probable spikes in Covid infections.
“The National Tutoring Programme is only partially subsidised by the government with schools expected to find the reminder of the money out of strained budgets. Schools and colleges are facing large inflationary costs without enough funding from the government to meet these costs. They are likely to have to cut educational provision in general, never mind running tutoring programmes.
“It is clear that the government must urgently improve the level of investment in our schools and colleges.”
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