Coronavirus daily update: Wednesday 22 July
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
More than half of school pupils in England struggled with home learning during lockdown, largely due to lack of motivation, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
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Each day, CYP Now will summarise the key issues affecting the children and families sector as it tackles the effects of the pandemic. The daily update signposts children’s services practitioners and leaders to the latest developments, expert views, advice and resources.
Half of pupils ‘struggled with home-schooling’
More than half of English school children struggled with home-schooling during lockdown, new data from the Office for National Statistics shows.
Some 52 per cent of parents with school-aged children polled said at least one child in their household was struggling to learn at home.
Of these parents, 77 per cent said lack of motivation was the reason behind this.
One in ten parents said their child was struggling due to a lack of technology - this was higher in single parents households (21 per cent) than households with two adults or more (seven per cent).
Furthermore, 68 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds in full-time education said they thought home-learning would negatively affect their future life plans.
Support unveiled for universities and colleges in Wales
The Welsh government has pledged £50m to tackle the impact of coronavirus on colleges and universities.
Education Minister Kirsty Williams said the institutions would play an "important role" in Wales' recovery from the pandemic.
"This funding will provide a vital support to our institutions in their preparations for the autumn," she added.
"Each one will be important in our recovery as they work with schools, business, international partners and public services.
"So we are supporting these major institutions in Welsh life, so they can support students of all ages, and keep playing their part in our recovery."
NYA calls for youth workers in schools post-lockdown
Two youth workers should be assigned to every secondary school to support vulnerable and disadvantaged young people unable to access youth work during the coronavirus crisis, the National Youth Agency (NYA) has said.
It is calling for a ‘youth service guarantee’ that would see two qualified youth workers and a team of youth support workers placed in each secondary school catchment area in order to secure youth services in the longer term.
Since the coronavirus crisis began earlier this year, many youth work projects have stopped or become severely restricted due to the lockdown imposed in March.
Nationally, one in five youth clubs and services are not expected to re-open, a figure higher in some areas, the NYA said.
Such a widespread move was needed now to support hundreds of thousands of young people that had been left at home, coping in potentially unsafe environments, due to the pandemic it added.
Academics brand DfE consultation ‘invalid’
A government survey seeking views over the extension of exemptions to children’s social care duties until 2021 is “not valid as a genuine consultation”, a damning academic review of Department for Education documents claims.
The review, written by eight academics specialising in social work, claims that consultation documents, including the survey, may “influence consultation responses”.
Its design will “seriously compromise the validity of any data gathered through it”, the document adds.
The survey, published last week, aims to collect views from across the sector on the extension of certain emergency amendments to legislation relating to children’s social care introduced as a response to Covid-19 through a series of five questions.
#Chances4Children: Outward Bound offers free activity days for disadvantaged children
Disadvantaged young people in the North West will be able to take part in free outdoor activities during the summer holidays thanks to an initiative being run by the Outward Bound Trust.
Through the 1,000 days of summer scheme, young people aged 11-17 who are eligible for free school meals will receive free activity days at Outward Bound centres in Ullswater in the Lake District and in Aberdovey in Snowdonia.
Nick Barrett, chief executive of The Outward Bound Trust, said that it developed the scheme after being unable to offer its traditional residential courses this summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic.