Agenda item

5.1 Evidence from previous meetings had noted that the necessity to close schools to prevent the spread Covid 19 may be exacerbating local educational inequalities.  The purpose of the item was therefore threefold:

·  To assess how school closures have impacted on young people's education and contributed to the widening of the attainment gap; 

·  Set out the challenges faced by schools of extending in-school provision and the nature of support needed ahead of September 2020;

·  To identify those priorities and strategies that can assist children to catch up on study programmes and counter growing educational inequalities.

 

5.2 In addition to officers from HLT, the Commission invited a number of external guests to help explore the above issues:

• Dr Rebecca Montacute, The Sutton Trust; 

• Chris Brown, Principal, The Bridge Academy;
• Richard Brown, Executive Head, Urswick Secondary School
• Jane Heffernan, Executive Head, Cardinal Pole Secondary School

 

The Sutton Trust

5.3 Dr Rebecca Montacute presented the report Covid 19 and Social Mobility - the Impact of School Closures.  This report was part of a series of research publications which looked at the impact of Covid 19 throughout education, from early years through to University entry and on to the workplace.  The schools shutdown report was the first of this series.  Although findings were based on polling from April 2020, the findings from this have been verified in subsequent research produced by other agencies

 

5.4 A number of key points were highlighted from the report, these included:

·  Children have very different living situations which all impact on their ability to study and learn, this includes the availability of space in which to learn, the support provided by parents and the general living conditions of young people.  When schools are closed the impact of these living conditions on a child’s learning is more pronounced.

·  The qualification levels of parents was a significant predictor of how confident parents felt in supporting their child’s home education. Less than half of parents with ‘A’ levels or GCSE felt confident in teaching their children at home compared to over 60% of parents with a higher qualification.  So the level of support that children have been getting depends (in part) on the educational qualification of their parents.

·  Data analysis also underscored the digital divide among young people where children from more socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to have adequate access to IT facilities (laptops and internet access).

·  Survey data also demonstrated that a significant proportion of children do not have access to appropriate work space in the home environment to enable them to study.  Again this was linked to socioeconomic status.

·  The amount and quality of work produced by children has also varied during lockdown and school closures, this appeared to be related to the type of school that children attended (private, state funded etc.) and whether children were entitled to FSM.

·  The research also found that teachers in poorer areas were less set-up and prepared to deliver on-line teaching in their school than teachers in more prosperous areas.

 

5.5 Research from the Education Endowment Foundation, a sister charity of the Sutton Trust, found that the cumulative impact of school closures on the attainment gap will be significant. It was suggested that the progress that has been made to close the attainment gap over the past 10 years will most likely have been reversed in the 6 months that children will have been away from school. 

 

5.6 Whilst the provision of laptops for vulnerable children was to be welcomed, the level of IT need was more substantive and likely to be ongoing, especially as on-line teaching was likely to continue in some form for students beyond September.  Whilst laptops may help students reconnect with their studies, additional interventions would be necessary to assist children to catch up and reduce the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. 

 

5.7 The Sutton Trust has been working with a number of other educational charities to set up the National Tuition Programme (NTP) to help identify the best ways to help children to catch up when they return to school. 

 

Bridge Academy

5.8 The Principal from the Bridge Academy outlined the work undertaken by the school to support children to continue to learn from home.  A number of key issues raised which are highlighted below:

• There was a high level of disadvantage among children attending where ? of children attending are in receipt of pupil premium and almost ½ eligible for FSM.
• On-line lessons have been provided to years 10 to 12 from the beginning, and once clear protocols were established this was extended to younger year groups.
• It was evident that not all students would have IT access, and 200 laptops were provided for students to support on-line learning.  The school has also provided ‘dongles’ and bought data to enable children to access the internet at home.
• It was important for teachers to maintain contact with students to help maintain continuity, and aside from any on-line teaching, each child has at least weekly contact with their teacher.  Teachers have been in daily contact with more vulnerable students. This has meant that the school has been able to maintain high levels of support for children. 
• Whilst the levels of student engagement was very high at the beginning of lockdown, there had been a noticeable drop-off after summer half-term.
• It was apparent that there were disparities in children’s home education environment and experience (work space and parental support being two), and it was clear that some children had struggled.  In this context, the school had sought to offer additional support where it could.
• Finding a quiet place to work has been very challenging for a number of students not only to study, but also to have 1-1 tutorials with their teachers.  The school has also sought to provide counselling opportunities for children, but this has been hindered by the fact that many young people do not have access to private space within the home.
• It was also more difficult for teachers to teach on-line particularly as it is more challenging to provide encouragement and support as they may do in a classroom setting.  Whilst some parents are happy to step into this role, other parents may be less confident in engaging and supporting their child in day to day school activities. This can be an issue for children’s motivation and engagement. 
• As children have been returning to school it is apparent that there are gaps in their learning and understanding.  There are also differences in how children have responded to on-line learning, whilst some have engaged and feel positive about being back in school, others feel that they have fallen behind and are not so confident about being back in school.  Many year 10 students, even the most able of students, were very worried about their study and exams for next year. 

 

Urswick Secondary

5.9 The Executive Headteacher of Urswick Secondary School presented to the Commission and also highlighted a number of ways that the school continued to support children in their home environment and how they planned to help children transition back to the school.

• There was concern that the good work to reduce educational disadvantage over the past 10 years might potentially be lost through widespread closure of schools.  Whilst engagement and uptake of work was lower amongst disadvantaged pupils was lower, it was much higher than reported nationally.
• The level of social isolation that children have experienced during lockdown should not be underestimated, and the work of schools to engage and involve students virtually has been very important. 
• Year 10 have been attending school for a number of weeks and attendance was up to 85%.  With additional assurance around safety and infection control procedures over the summer, the school was reasonably confident that most parents will allow their children to return in September.
• In terms of the predicted grades for students taking exams this year, the school was concerned that the examining bodies would use examination results of the school as well as teacher assessments to determine student grades.  This would perpetuate the status quo, and would undermine the work of the school to ensure that students obtain grades that are fair, avoid unconscious bias and reflect the work of the student. Based on mock exam results and other independent assessments, Urswick was confident that exam results were going to be 10-15% higher than in previous years.  The school had communicated its concerns to relevant examining boards. 
• Whilst children will be offered the opportunity to retake exams in the autumn the grades achieved will most likely be suppressed as children will then be studying new subjects, will not have received any active teaching in these examination subjects or have even moved to another educational setting. There is a danger therefore that children across Hackney may not get the grades that they deserve.
• The school had been open every day throughout the pandemic and had supported 35-40 vulnerable children and those whose parents were key workers.  By staying open, the school has demonstrated that it can support safe operation of the school to both parents and teachers and there has not been any confirmed cases of Covid among staff or students since Easter.

 

Cardinal Pole Secondary

5.10 The Executive Head of Cardinal Pole Secondary school also presented to the Commission.  A summary of the key issues are highlighted below:

• The school closed the week before lockdown to ensure that school staff were trained in remote teaching and learning techniques. Similarly, students were brought in before lockdown to help assess those who did not have access to IT and on-line facilities and how they could be supported through school resources.
• Staff have been divided into three groups: teaching and learning, engagement or attendance.  Therefore the school has had very good levels of attendance and engagement among students which has been between 80-90% and children that did not attend were routinely followed up-phone calls home.  It was made clear that if children did not attend classes remotely, then they would be brought into school.  The engagement team not only assessed whether children were connecting to on-line resources, but that work was of an adequate standard.
• Year 12 has had an on-line programme of teaching for which attendance has been 97%. Mock exams have also been held throughout the school which has helped teachers to establish where individual children are within their learning.
• The school had also undertaken a lot of work to support teachers in making predictive assessments of children.  Like Urswick, this school also had concerns that previous years grades might be used to determine pupil attainment.
• In relation to proposals for resources for catch-up tutoring, it was suggested in-house tutoring is far more effective than outsourcing as school staff knew and understood the needs of children far better.  School staff may be more committed and driven to improving the needs of children in their care than external support agencies. It was also noted that the level of resources for individual schools would be insufficient given the level of need (the number of children on FSM or in receipt of Pupil Premium) in the school.
• The school has invested heavily in on-line resources and in providing physical resources to enable children to study and learn remotely.  The school is now focused on September and opening the school to all pupils, in particular supporting those children transferring into the school from primary settings.  A nurture group has been established for vulnerable children within this cohort.
• It is important for the children to experience continuity for their studies and for both them and their parents to be able to contact the school when needed. Teachers have been a very important link for children during lockdown, and additional support has been provided for staff not only in developing appropriate on-line resources and teaching methods, but also to help maintain their morale in very challenging circumstances.  There have been a number of staff training days to help teachers adjust back into school.
• It was acknowledged that the reopening of the school to all pupils in September would be a challenge.

 

5.11 A member of the Commission, who is also a head teacher at a local secondary school made a number of additional observations:

• Concerns about the proposed use of external tutors for the NTP were echoed by the headteacher, as in school staff were best placed to know the knowledge gaps of their pupils and had developed relationships with them which recognised and understood their learning behaviours.
• It was also noted that disparities in children’s learning were arising through their access to digital devices, access to parental support and the availability of physical space for learning.  The detail of children’s missed learning however would not be fully identifiable until children were back in school, where fuller and more rounded assessments of children could take place and only then can schools practically develop catch up plans for students.  It was noted that some children would bounce back and catch up very quickly whilst others may require more intensive support. 

 

5.12 The Cabinet member for Early Years, Families and Play noted that whilst parents may be reassured around health and safety measures to protect their children from Coronavirus, additional support may be needed for those parents of a child with SEND.  It was reported that some schools would be relaxing behaviour policies for certain groups of young people to enable them to adapt back to the school.

 

5.13 The Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care noted that the voice of young people was very clear in this matter and that many wanted a return to school as soon as practicable.  Children also had genuine concerns about the return back to school not only through having got behind in their studies, but also in adapting back to behaviour and exclusions policies and the wider school environment. Guidance had been issued by HLT to schools on these matters.

 

Hackney Learning Trust

5.14 HLT highlighted a number of issues in relation to secondary school provision:

·  HLT was supporting schools to share good practice by holding borough wide forums for head teachers, where there was an opportunity to share the work they were undertaking in their respective schools.  It was apparent that local schools and head teachers had been very resourceful and innovative and had developed new systems for on-line learning, pastoral support and providing reassurance to staff and parents.

·  School Improvement Partners (SIP) have also supported schools during this period and are in regular contact with head teachers across both primary and secondary schools.  Through this process SIPs have been able to identify and share good practice across local schools.  There have also been a number of meetings with school governors for the same purpose.

·  DfE also continues to release best practice guides and resources for schools on a range of policy areas including on-line teaching and supporting home learning environments.  The HLT has held weekly meetings with a DfE contact which was an opportunity to highlight areas of concern to central policymakers. 

·  It was noted that proposals for the NTP were as yet underdeveloped and further detail was expected over the summer.  As it stood a £1billion fund to assist children to catch-up in their studies would be spent in two ways: ? of this funding will support the NTP which would use external private tutoring companies to support the most vulnerable children and ? of funding given direct to schools to spend on tutoring (or other interventions) for a more generalised pupil catch up.

·  It was reported that among secondary schools, HLT had facilitated meetings of subject leads to meet and exchange ideas in delivery of home education and on-line learning in their curriculum areas. Similarly 6th form leaders had also met and developed a shared approach to the cancellation of exams and UCAS applications.

·  HLT and Hackney schools were active contributors to a six borough ‘Lost Learning’ research project to identify ways in which children may have missed out on studies during lockdown and how curriculums need to adapt to address education gaps whilst continuing with new learning. An independent expert was commissioned to present to local schools (primary and secondary) on what a ‘recovery curriculum’ would look like and how to resume learning as quickly as possible.

 

Questions

5.15 What reassurance can HLT and schools provide to young people and their parents around measures to reduce unconscious bias in schools?  What support is available for young people on results day and what can young people do if they are unhappy with their results?

·  HLT have been in contact with schools, issued guidance and provided training around unconscious bias in the teacher assessment process.  HLT has also issued guidance in respect of the administration of results day and shared good practice.  In order to maintain social distancing, is likely that children would be given their results in a staggered process throughout the day. Whilst HLT was optimistic that young people would get the results that they deserve, as in  previous years, there will always be a group of children who are unhappy with their results. Year 13 and Year 11 students generally have a number of options open to them and that advice and support for them is available at this juncture.  There will be an option for children to appeal their exam results or retake them in the autumn of 2020.

·  HLT would visit schools on the two results days (GCSE and A level).  It was noted that if the exam boards do use 2019 results through which to moderate grades, as a borough, Hackney performed very well in the previous year.  HLT would be meeting schools to discuss any variations in exam results this year.

·  In relation to unconscious bias, HLT has provided guidance and training around cultural responsiveness of the whole school and helped to share good practice. 

·  Urswick reported that there were plans in place to support children on results day.  In terms of 6th form admissions, the school intended to use its own internal grade predictions rather than final results even if these prove to be lower.  For year 13 students and UCAS admissions, there is less of a concern as much of the preparatory work was completed before lockdown and many children had multiple or unconditional offers.  Teachers would be in school over the summer supporting this process and results would be given out in a staggered way throughout the day.  It was emphasised that it would be demotivating for young people if they received poorer results from their actual exams than in their mock exams.  2019 results were not as good as in previous years or had been anticipated for 2020, so modelling 2020 results on 2019 figures would be of significant concern which the school would challenge.

·  Bridge Academy confirmed that it (and most other secondary heads) would adopt a similar approach to 6th form admissions, and base acceptances on work and performance of children in their 5 years of study at the school.  In relation to inter school admissions, additional communication would be needed between schools to provide verification of their level of attainment and study.  In terms of results day, like most other secondary schools, results would be staged throughout the day and there will be support and guidance on hand to help children navigate the next steps should they not get the results that they are happy with.

 

5.16 Through the shared practice forums, does HLT have any data on quality and quantity of on-line teaching provided to young people and the degree to which children have engaged with on-line learning? 

·  HLT have maintained weekly contact with every school and have been able to develop a good picture of what is being provided at each school.  Each school was dealing with different circumstances however, and responses have varied across the sector.  Three primary schools have remained closed throughout the lockdown period as they did not have enough staff (due to shielding and sickness). It was recognised whilst schools have all generally responded well to the provision of on-line teaching and support, there was some variation in response and that additional support would be needed at some schools to assist children returning to school in September to help them catch-up with their studies.

·  School Improvement Partners are in regular contact with schools and as a result HLT has a good overview of provision and which schools need additional help or guidance to improve or maximise their support to children.  It was emphasised that schools were in very different positions and their ability to provide resources and on-line teaching support varied.  In relation to vulnerable children however, there have been explicit standards, and all schools have been expected to maintain regular contact and have effective communication with children’s social care and other support services.  There was considerable expertise amongst Hackney schools and headteachers in supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils, and HLT was confident that learning gaps amongst this cohort would be identified and effective learning plans put in place when they return in September. 

 

5.17 What support can be provided to schools to develop effective catch-up strategies over the summer and in the autumn? What will these programmes look like?

·  HLT noted that additional interventions rather than longer hours would be the most probable route that schools would take in assisting children to catch-up on their return in September.  Again, it was emphasised that schools should not make any assumptions about which children may have kept up with their studies and those who have fallen behind, but to avoid unconscious bias, catch up programmes should be informed by rigorous testing and evaluation when children return to school.  It was suggested that teaching techniques would be central to learning recovery programmes as these would help to identify key learning and skills necessary for children to progress in the remainder of the curriculum rather than re-teach areas lost.

·  Urswick noted that it did not intend to extend the school day to enable children to catch up, but were instead planning a Saturday school.  Saturday school would help alleviate the pressures on space and pupil congestions from weekday provision.  The school would also have phased opening which is extending the school day already, so it would be difficult to extend it further.  Thus any additional resources would be used to extend Saturday provision.

 

5.18 What support will be provided to children and parents over the summer holiday?

·  A wide ranging resource list has been developed for children and their parents to support them over the summer months.  Schools would also be developing their own approach though it should be recognised that teaching staff had been working exceptionally hard over the past few months and would require time off and to help them prepare for the autumn term.  Some schools will undoubtedly set some work over the summer, especially for year 10 children.

 

5.19 How are pupils in year 6 who are about to transition to secondary school being supported? 

·  HLT reported that it was initially hoped that face to face inductions would be taking place to support children moving from primary to secondary, but this has not been possible and contact has been virtual with one-to-one meetings with children and their families as well as virtual school tours in operation.  Schools have put many resources on line including presentations by head teachers and other key staff about life at their school.  Centrally there has been concern about those vulnerable children who would be transitioning to secondary in September and there has been dedicated support from HLT to schools to make sure that there was effective liaison and communication between primary and secondary school to support such children and their families.  This has also been the case for children with SEND and those with an EHCP.

 

5.20 In the context of virtual teaching, how are teachers signposting children and their families to additional health and social care support that may be needed (e.g. counselling support).

·  HLT noted that normally schools would see children every day and would be able make referrals on to other agencies such as Young Hackney, FAST or CAMHS where appropriate.  A new working arrangement has been set up between HLT and CFS to support schools who are worried about children who they cannot make contact with or if they have other specific concerns.  It is clear that there have been concerns for children around the lack of money or lack of food in the family home, and there has been effective signposting to council support services to help these children and families.

·  Cardinal Pole reported that local schools were very familiar with dealing with the impact of social deprivation and all had sought to maintain contact with vulnerable children throughout the lockdown period.  At Cardinal Pole, vulnerable children were contacted 3 times a week, even during the school holidays and this would continue over the summer.  The pandemic has heightened social, emotional and financial stresses on families and the school liaises with other statutory bodies where necessary to keep children safe and protected.  Food poverty has been a real issue for local families with many more families needing help and support.  In the past week there had been over 50 requests by families for additional support heading into the summer.  This is particularly important for those families who have no recourse to public funds.  The constant contact with the children has been important in this time, but there are lots of visible cues which can be used by teachers and the school to direct support to children who need it and therefore it was important for children to come back to school as soon as it was safe and practicable to do so.

 

5.21 Given that the majority of children with SEND are in mainstream settings, what additional support are schools putting in place to support this cohort of children back into school in September?

·  Urswick noted that given that many children will have been out of school for 6 months by September, most will have some additional need at this point and there will be huge pressures within the system to meet these and existing SEND needs.  The school had increased spending on SLT in anticipation of this level of need.  A surge in demand for a whole range of support services was expected in September and the real challenge will be how this response is coordinated.  There would also be a need to transition away from virtual support for some of these services which services should be planning for.

 

5.22 What was the Sutton Trusts view about the use of external tutoring within the NTP?

·  The Sutton Trust shared the concerns of local headteachers about the use of external tutoring services rather than in school staff.  Whilst the project is government funded, the NTP is being designed by a number of charities including the Sutton Trust.  The programme is being designed on the evidence base and there will be two parts to the programme.  In the ‘Partners’ programme, schools will be able to buy in tuition from independent tutoring providers who have been approved by the Education Endowment Foundation and should demonstrate that they already have good relationships with the school and are able to integrate tutoring into the school curriculum. The second option for schools, particularly where there is a high proportion of disadvantaged children is that they will be able to access a coach as a full-time member of staff who will be trained by an external agency but the post will be a tool for the school to use. 

·  The NTP would not fix the gap in children’s learning caused by the Coronavirus, but it will be a small part of an overall response to help close this gap.  The Sutton Trust were keen to hear from local teachers to understand what would be the most efficient use of this resource.  A further £650m was being made available to schools for them to directly spend as they wished to support children to catch-up.

 

5.23 The government has issued over 300 guidelines for the reopening of schools, did schools anticipate further guidelines, some of which may affect existing plans for reopening?

·  Bridge Academy indicated that it did expect new guidelines which would impact on plans to reopen in September.  For example, if there were plans to change social distancing requirements this would have a significant impact on existing plans. Most schools in Hackney operate from a very small footprint therefore any changes to social distancing would have a wide ranging impact, as it will logistically be very difficult to deliver teaching on site as it stands.

·  Cardinal Pole also reported that preparations for a September return had been a very complex process, translating all the government guidance into a workable teaching space. Although the school has a detailed plan, there was an anticipation that this would change.  There was a strong resentment across the sector that there was very little involvement of schools in planning and preparing guidance and that new requirements were announced with little consultation and insufficient lead in time.  This was felt to be disrespectful to the teaching profession and did not acknowledge the work of school staff in maintaining education provision and in developing plans for full reopening of schools in September.

 

5.24 What plans were there to re-engage parents ahead of the September re-opening?

·  Urswickschool suggested that the worst option which has been floated nationally, was to serve fines on those parents who do not let their children return to school.  This would be a last resort for the school.  Some parents have genuine concerns and anxieties about their children returning to school, and effective communication strategies need to be in place to reassure them that schools are safe.  Extending provision means having more children on site which is by extension, increasing the risk for those children and which requires really careful planning to minimise these.  The school was also considering using alumni of the school who had recently completed University to support tutoring.  The advantage of this approach is that alumni are representative of the school population with whom current pupils may more easily connect with. 

·  HLT noted that there would be specific challenges for year 7 and year 12 students returning to school as there will not be established relationships with the school and teaching staff at their new schools to help them transition into the new academic environment.  The council was planning borough wide communications to emphasise that with the exception of a few students with underlying health conditions, all children were expected back into school in September.  Those children in contact with CFS or Young Hackney would also be receiving support from these services to enable them to return.

 

5.25 What are schools priorities for helping children to catch up?

·  The Bridge Academy reported that the recovery of young people’s learning would be a marathon and not a sprint and that interventions would be made over the long term.  Teaching staff would first need to assess what learning had been missed by children, and to identify critical learning skills and understanding which were necessary for them to access the remainder of the curriculum. In this context, subject leaders were currently identifying key aspects of the curriculum which are necessary for future learning and if these need to be re-taught. Year 11 will require more intensive teaching support to ready them for exams for next year.  For a small number of pupils this may mean that they will need to study a smaller number of subjects to ensure that they reach the required standard in key subjects for 2021 exams to enable them to go on to the next level in their education.

 

5.26 In terms of the issues raised by the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, what reassurance were schools providing to BAME children that they would be treated fairly in their assessments and general education provision?

·  HLT noted that this issue has impacted on staff, students and their families across Hackney.  The death of George Floyd took place after schools had begun to extend provision and HLT had developed a number of best practice sessions which could be used for school assemblies. This issue has been discussed at both headteacher meetings and governor meetings.  With the involvement of the Cabinet Member for Education, Young People’s and Children’s Social Care a dedicated session was also held for staff across HLT to reflect on racial inequalities and cultural bias and a follow up meeting was planned.  HLT is in the early stages of building a strategy that further develops the work of the Young Black Men’s Programme, which would encompass issues around the curriculum, staff and families.  The Hackney Schools Group Board has helped 6 local schools to pilot sessions with families so that parents can articulate their response to the issues raised. 

·  Urswick noted that teaching staff represented a huge resource locally because of the diversity of their cultural backgrounds, including the leadership teams of many schools. School closure had provided an opportunity for teaching staff to reflect on these issues with pupils, though it was acknowledged that it was difficult to deal with this issue with young people virtually.  It was clear that there was further work to do across schools to engage young people on the issues raised by the death of George Floyd.

 

5.27 Is there any additional support that can be provided by HLT and the wider council to support schools to re-open to their pupils ahead of September 2020, or can assist in the recovery of lost learning which has occurred through lockdown?

·  The Bridge Academy indicated that it was very satisfied with the reposes and support provided through HLT.  The ability of schools to share good practice would be critical going forward and there needs to be appropriate forums and clear lines of communication to support this.  The complexity of magnitude of the issues that schools face requires a multi-agency approach and a partnership approach be developed to support schools.

·  Urswick urged that there should be no further delay in reopening public libraries.  Libraries were a key community resource which can help people connect and can play a key role in reducing local inequalities.  Urswick urged that a safe, dedicated time and space be provided for young people to assist them in their studies and catch up on learning lost during school closures. 

·  Cardinal Pole noted that transition at year 11 post 18 was an area of particular concern, as the prospect of a recession may mean that there may be fewer opportunities for this group of young people and there was a real prospect of an increase in the number of young people who may be not in education, employment or training (NEET).  The school suggested that a local partnership approach involving a wide range of local agencies could help to develop more opportunities for this cohort of young people.

·  Our Lady’s noted that further work needed to be done to engage parents, not only to support learners but also to help identify wider health and social care needs.  Given the social distancing restrictions, face contact between parents and teacher will be difficult in the new term therefore new structures will need to be established so that wider needs of children can be communicated.  It may be helpful if such infrastructure was borough wide so that parents can be made aware of the resources to help children catch up in their studies as well as signposting to other sources of education, health and social care.

 

5.28 The Commission noted that it would be useful to understand what additional resource schools would need to help young people catch up with their studies and how vulnerable and disadvantaged young people will be supported to prevent a further widening of the attainment gap.  As this would be a longer term issue, it was suggested that this topic could be revisited later in the work Commissions work programme.

 

5.29 The Commission also highlighted the issues of year 11 transfers and the prospect of more limited opportunities for young people post 18.  Ensuring that children do not become NEET is important for their long term development so it would be helpful to receive a further update on this when a more detailed picture emerges post September 2020.

 

5.30 The Chair thanked the Sutton Trust and all school heads for their time and participation in the meeting.