Education recovery tsar quits over ‘half-hearted’ catch-up plan

Collins, who was appointed to the post just five months ago, wrote to the Prime Minister to submit his resignation yesterday (2 June) just hours after the government revealed its plans which include increased tutoring for disadvantaged pupils and improved teacher training.

• Interview: Natalie Perera, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute

• Feature: How tutors help pupils to progress

It emerged earlier this week that Collins had put forward proposals to Boris Johnson for a £15bn scheme to help children catch up on months of lost learning.

In a statement, Collins described the government’s offer as a “half-hearted approach” that “risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils”.

He also reiterated a comment made in response to the announcement of the £1.4bn funding package, stating “it does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge”.

“This is why I have no option but to resign from my post,” Collins said.

In a full letter of resignation to Johnson, published by TES, Collins states that he told the Prime Minister last week that he “does not believe it would be possible to deliver a successful recovery without significantly greater support than the government has, to date, indicated that it intends to provide”.

As part of Collins’ plan, first reported in The Times, he had suggested extending the school day in order to “offer children opportunities to re-engage with sport, music and a rich range of activities that define a great education”, the letter states.

Responding to his resignation, Johnson said he is “hugely grateful to Sir Kevan for his work in helping pupils catch up and recover from the effects of the pandemic”. 

“The government will continue to focus on education recovery and making sure no child is left behind, with over £3bn committed for catch up so far,” he added.

A statement from the Labour Party branded Collins’ resignation as “a damning indictment of the Conservatives’ education catch-up plan”.

“He was brought in by the Prime Minister because of his experience and expertise, but the government has thrown out his ideas as soon as it came to stumping up the money,” it said.

Meanwhile, chief executive of The Children’s Society, Mark Russell, said: “It is clear that Sir Kevan Collins’ ambitious aspirations for a genuine recovery plan for children, looking not only at their educational attainment but also their mental health and wellbeing, has been jettisoned in favour of a cost-saving sticking plaster. 

“We sincerely hope that the announced funding is just the start of a full recovery plan for children, but Sir Kevan’s resignation is a very worrying sign that the government will fall grossly short of what children desperately need.” 

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, added: “Kevan Collins' valiant efforts to deliver a serious recovery package fell on the deafest of ears. This is a comprehensive failure of government at a critical hour."