Remote Education

(asked on 19th February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support the additional educational needs of children in kinship care who are homeschooling as a result of the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.


Answered by
Vicky Ford Portrait
Vicky Ford
This question was answered on 25th February 2021

During the period of national lockdown announced on 4 January 2021, primary, secondary, alternative provision, special schools, and further education providers have remained open to vulnerable children and young people. The definition of vulnerable children and young people includes those who have been identified as vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities, including children who left care through a special guardianship order, and others at the discretion of the provider or local authority.

Where vulnerable children and young people are not able to attend their education setting, they are able to access remote education. The government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities who can lend these to children who need them most, including children in kinship care, during the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Schools are expected to offer pupils online lessons and a set number of hours of remote education for pupils, with an expectation that schools set work that is of equivalent to the core teaching pupils would receive in school.

A comprehensive package of support is available which can be accessed through the Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk. The department has also made £4.84 million available for the Oak National Academy which is continuing to provide video lessons in a broad range of subjects for reception up to year 11, including content for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

To support schools to make up for lost teaching time, the government introduced a catch-up package worth £1 billion, including a ‘Catch up Premium’ worth a total of £650 million and a £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils. The government will also provide a programme of catch-up over the next financial year. This will involve a further £300 million of new money to early years, schools, and providers of 16 to 19 further education for tutoring, and the department will work in collaboration with the education sector to develop, as appropriate, specific initiatives for summer schools and a COVID Premium to support catch up.

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