Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration the expert advisory group on the differential impacts of the covid-19 outbreak on pupils will give to the views of clinically extremely vulnerable pupils who have been shielding throughout the academic year to inform alternative arrangements to support those pupils.

The Department recognises that school closures have had a significant impact on the education of young people across the country, and that disruption will have been felt differently by individual students, depending on their circumstances.

We have appointed Sir Kevan Collins as the Education Recovery Commissioner to advise on a longer-term plan. The objectives of the Education Recovery Commissioner, as outlined in the terms of reference, are to advise on the design and implementation of potential interventions that will help students catch up learning lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Education Recovery Commissioner will also consider how schools and the system can effectively target resources and support at pupils and areas in greatest need, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.

The terms of reference for the Education Recovery Commissioner, are published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/960070/Terms_of_reference.pdf.