In a final series of reports by the inspectorate following 2,000 visits to schools, childcare settings, children’s social care providers and services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), chief inspector Amanda Spielman warns that “repeated absences due to Covid-19 outbreaks have resulted in pupils losing more learning.”
The reports add that “for a significant number of pupils, repeated periods of self-isolation have chipped away at the progress they have been able to make since September”.
Inspectors found that in more than half of schools visited, pupils in class or year group bubbles were sent home to self-isolate at some point during the term, with more children sent home in bubbles from secondary schools than primary schools.
Meanwhile, a handful of headteachers said that a significant proportion of their pupils had to self-isolate on two or three separate occasions.
Inspectors found mixed effectiveness of remote education but the report states pupils who were isolating individually for 14 days were likely to make less progress than those isolating along with their learning bubble.
Spielman said: “While remote education is better than nothing, it’s no substitute for the classroom.
“Schools are struggling to assess whether remote learning is effective or not. For many, the measure of success is whether or not children are engaging with the work at all, rather than whether they are developing their knowledge and understanding – a case of remote attendance, rather than remote learning.”
Remote learning was a particular challenge for children with SEND, inspectors said, with many unable to attend school full-time.
“Remote education was a challenge for some of these children, particularly if their parents were unable to support them. When vulnerable children are not at school and are out of sight, they may be at risk of abuse or neglect,” the report states.
Meanwhile, early years settings are reporting a drop in the number of children attending from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Providers have also raised concerns over the financial impact of the pandemic on settings.
“Many are struggling to provide consistent staffing due to periods of staff illness or self-isolation,” the report states, adding that providers remained concerned about the impact of the restrictions on children’s personal, social and emotional development.
"While some children had settled well, other children were still struggling to adapt to the structure and daily routines in their setting, particularly those who had difficult experiences during the pandemic.”
Concerns have also been raised about children in social care settings, in particular, secure children’s homes where young people were forced to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival, inspectors found.
Spielman said: “There is real optimism that the end is finally in sight for the sort of restrictions that we currently live under, but it’s clear that there is a long way to go before education and social care returns to normal. For many children, there is more to be done: to catch them up, to level the playing field and to prepare them well for the next stage in their lives.”
A separate report, Build Back Fairer: The Covid-19 Marmot Review, by Sir Michael Marmot which builds on his original 2010 Marmot Review on children's health inequalities warns that England’s Covid-19 restrictions have harmed children and young people’s wellbeing and has damaged everyone’s prospect for improved long-term health.
