Pupils call for reduced school curriculum as PM set to announce reopening date

A survey conducted by the Jack Petchey Foundation found that 55 per cent of more than 5,000 young people taking part felt the curriculum should be reduced as a priority when pupils return to the classroom.

The survey also found support for tutoring in small groups (44 per cent of young people seeing this as a priority), more textbooks and resources (42 per cent), increased mental health support (41 per cent), and one-to-one support for students who need it most (36 per cent).

Publication of the findings of the survey coincide with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s scheduled announcement later today (22 February) where he will give details of a four-step plan to release England from lockdown, with schools due to reopen on 8 March as the first step.

Additional school over the summer holidays proved the least popular option for school students, with only nine per cent saying this would be useful to help them catch up on their education.

Trudy Kilcullen, chief executive of the Jack Petchey Foundation, said: “Covid-19 has impacted on every member of society; however the impact on young people’s futures will be long lasting. It is important that their voices be at the centre of decisions influencing our recovery as we rebuild a positive and constructive future for the UK.”

Last month the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) last month called for government to consider “big and radical” ideas to help pupils catch up, such as extending the school year, lengthening the school day, mass repetition of whole school years or summer schools. It said that while the government’s £250m National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is likely to have positive results, it is “unlikely to be anything like enough to deal with the seismic loss in learning time”.

However, today the British Psychological Society has urged the government to reconsider its emphasis on the idea that children and young people need to “catch up” on their education, saying that supporting the wellbeing and educational needs of all children should be a priority.

“It’s important that children know that education and learning is a lifelong skill, not a sprint and it’s vital for their psychological wellbeing that the rhetoric around ‘catch up’ doesn’t detract from their achievements and progress during lockdowns,” Dan O’Hare, co-chair of the British Psychological Society’s division of educational and child psychology said.

“It’s also essential that this conversation doesn’t detract from the many real issues facing the most disadvantaged children that more urgently need to be addressed by the government, such as food poverty, access to green spaces, use of digital learning equipment and access to high-speed broadband.”

The government has said it will work with parents, teachers and schools to “develop a long-term plan to make sure pupils have the chance to make up their learning over the course of this parliament”.