Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings

Stephen Hammond Excerpts
Wednesday 30th June 2021

(3 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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I would very much appreciate it if the hon. Gentleman forwarded that report, as it would be interesting to look at the details. We have been looking closely at the impact of covid on children’s learning right across the country. We have been doing a detailed study with Renaissance Learning to look at the lost learning, not just as a national cohort but very much in granular detail, and that is very much informing our policy development as to how we best address that.

Stephen Hammond Portrait Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con) [V]
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I thank my right hon. Friend for his answers today and for his commitment to remove self-isolation for schoolchildren as soon as possible. That will be widely welcomed across Wimbledon. Can he reassure me about what the Government are doing to ensure that disabled children get the support they need at home when they have been self-isolating and unable to attend school?

Gavin Williamson Portrait Gavin Williamson
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We very much expect the education to be delivered for all children remotely, whether they are in a mainstream school, a special school or alternative provision. We work with the sector to ensure that that happens, including on the provision of IT equipment and devices, which is so critical for all schools to be able to deliver that.