Summer Schools

(asked on 3rd September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the 2021 summer schools programme.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 15th September 2021

The Government made £200 million available this summer so that secondary schools could deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools were able to fund provision based on the needs of their students, delivering a blend of academic activities and enrichment activities, including mental wellbeing support. This is alongside wider support funded through our Holiday Activities and Food Programme across the country, where £220 million was made available to local authorities.

Over 2,800 secondary schools signed up to the participate in the summer schools programme. This is 74% of all eligible mainstream secondary schools and it means that over 500,000 pupils will have been invited to take part. This will help recover lost education and to give pupils the confidence they need to start the academic year. Schools will claim their funding for summer school places in October on the basis of pupil attendance.

As part of the Government’s commitment to developing a longer-term education recovery plan, understanding the effectiveness and success of the 2021 summer schools programme is a key priority for the Department. We have designed a research study to help us to better understand the perceived impact of summer schools on children’s wellbeing, transition to secondary school, and academic recovery. An independent research agency will carry out the analysis and reporting of this important research for the Department, and the evaluation will be published on gov.uk.

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