Covid-19: Educational Settings

Lord Greaves Excerpts

Thursday 7th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, there have been significant preparations and schools are in a different place than they were when we had to impose the initial shutdown in March. I have outlined in detail the provision of technology et cetera. During the autumn term, when schools needed extra staff in order to keep provision, we implemented a specific Covid staff support fund to enable schools to stay open.

As regards external assessment, we agree. Exams were cancelled as a last resort because we recognise that external assessment is the fairest way for students. I have previously outlined to your Lordships’ House that the consultation will, I hope, include groups such as disadvantaged students. It is one of the bases for proposals for changing to actual grades for university because predicted grades are often lower than students’ achievement. Noble Lords will remember that we all become a number when entering for GCSEs and A-levels. They do not know where you come from, who your parents are or what school you went to. That is important, particularly, for instance, for BAME students. Becoming anonymous when taking an examination is important. Assessment should be based solely on one’s work after taking an examination, which is an incredibly important factor that we must not lose sight of.

As regards the devolved Administrations, I assume that the deal is UK-wide. If it is anything other than that, I will clarify. However, we are grateful to the mobile phone providers, which have stepped up in relation to this matter.

[Lord Greaves (LD) [V]]

My Lords, now that this summer’s exams have been cancelled, is it not a good opportunity to have a serious look at whether GCSEs have come to the end of their usefulness? They should be abolished, certainly in their present form. That is my first question.

Secondly, the noble Lord, Lord Empey, said that students will have effectively lost two school years—certainly one and a half. The Minister herself said that catch-up had taken on a new dimension. Is it not time that at least background planning seriously started taking place to see whether the present school year of 2020-21 should be reset and started again next September, so that children have the opportunity to catch up by doing the year again? There are major problems at the top and bottom ends, but is it not time that this was seriously looked at as a possibility?

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, in relation to GCSEs, the majority of children in England transition at 16. That may not be the case in other devolved nations and therefore examinations at 16 are an important part of our system. In relation to catch-up, there are of course plans in the department about how to get the information about how behind children are and how we support schools. The noble Lord’s idea is a novel one but, as he indicates, it has mammoth implications. Thinking about the higher education sector, would that be mandatory or voluntary, and would students really want to do it? Also, it would create a huge bulge into higher education at some point. The idea is novel, but it has mammoth implications for the sector. We need to focus on supporting schools in order to get the best education for those children at the moment, and that is what the department is focused on doing.