Bridget Phillipson
Main Page: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)Department Debates - View all Bridget Phillipson's debates with the Department for Education
(2 years, 9 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Alex Burghart)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on his report. I very much share his sentiments about the importance of recognising prior learning. Currently, further education providers can use their own discretion when they assess learners’ experience, but we are examining how we can encourage the greater use of knowledge in respect of prior learning. I shall pass on my hon. Friend’s invitation to the Secretary of State.
Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)
Today, I send my love to the family of Jack Dromey, who will be deeply missed by us all. Through you, Mr Speaker, I also send to the Secretary of State my best wishes for a swift recovery.
According to the most recent figures, the number of children who are out of school because of covid has risen by 34%. In the light of that, do Ministers not regret all the time and energy they have wasted on defending the Prime Minister rather than prioritising our children’s learning?
The Minister for School Standards (Mr Robin Walker)
The hon. Lady may wish to play party politics, but we are focused on making sure that children can safely learn in schools.
Bridget Phillipson
If only that were true. It is a year this week since the Prime Minister appointed Sir Kevan Collins
“to oversee a comprehensive programme of catch-up”,
only for Sir Kevan later to resign in protest because, in his words, the Government’s plans risked
“failing hundreds of thousands of pupils.”
We can all see covid’s impact on children’s learning and wellbeing. Labour’s “Children’s Recovery Plan” meets the scale of the challenge we face, so when will the Minister finally put children first and match Labour’s ambition for their future?