Government accused of failing children over ‘inadequate’ education recovery package

Bristol’s Labour politicians have condemned the government’s education recovery package as “wholly inadequate” and a short-sighted approach.

Mayor Marvin Rees says the city is proactively working to mitigate against the legacy of Covid that has seen the most marginalised hit hardest but says the funding available from Westminster falls far short of what is needed.

The government’s proposal to allocate £1.4bn over three years to fund educational recovery in the wake of the pandemic – equivalent to £50 per pupil per year – has been widely condemned and prompted the resignation of education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins.

Speaking about the issue on Wednesday, Rees said: “When you measure it against what we have been told is necessary, it’s wholly inadequate. Saving billions of pounds, the way the government might see it now, is going to cost us all in unemployment, inequality, social instability, reduced skills and mental health over the medium to long term, so it’s very short-sighted.”

The mayor has signed a National Education Union letter calling on the government to invest properly in children’s futures and says the city is working on its own catch-up plan looking at three strands; academic catch up, mental health and reaching out to those who have drifted out of education and employment without pastoral support.

His sentiments were echoed this week by Bristol South MP Karin Smyth, who accused government ministers of treating children and young people “as an afterthought throughout the pandemic and now failing to deliver the investment needed to help their recovery”.

In appointing his new cabinet, Rees amalgamated the dedicated education portfolio to become part of the children and women brief, led by Helen Godwin.

Defending the decision on Wednesday, the mayor said there has always been crossover between the two roles and that it makes sense to bring them together. He said fears that some children risk getting left behind are valid and something his administration is taking very seriously.

“We recognise the risks of people being left behind, which that’s why we launched some months ago, the work with Andy [Forbes, the principal of City of Bristol College] and schools and with our children’s board as well, this work around educational recovery.

“By definition, those who are most marginal will be hit first and hardest and will be least well placed to benefit from any upturn in economy. And that’s going to be a legacy of Covid that we have to proactively work against.”

Some of these citywide efforts include a partnership with acclaimed Bristol chef Josh Eggleton to look at job and apprenticeship opportunities within the hospitality sector, as well as work with the NHS on mental health.

Bristol City Council is working with Josh Eggleton on a scheme opening up opportunities within the hospitality sector – photo courtesy of Caring in Bristol

Smyth said children in the region have missed an estimated 100 days of in-person school, yet the Conservatives’ “meagre catch-up plan” provides just 94 pence per child for every day of in-person school missed.

She points out their plan also includes nothing about children’s wellbeing or social development, despite parents saying this is their top concern after the isolation of lockdown.

“Children across Britain have had more time out of school than anywhere else in Europe which – combined with the Conservatives’ delayed delivery of laptops and devices for remote learning – has seen the gap in learning between disadvantaged children and their peers increase,” said the MP for Bristol South.

“The Conservatives have treated our children and young people as an afterthought throughout the pandemic and are now failing to deliver the investment needed to help their recovery.”

She is calling on the government to back Labour’s recovery plan for children that would invest £14.7 billion over two years.

Main photo courtesy of Cando Bristol

Read more: ‘The impact of the past year on young people has been profound’