Further Education: Coronavirus

(asked on 8th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) removing or (b) relaxing rules surrounding requirements of study in relation to students who have not yet received a Level 2 in English and/or maths in the 2020-21 academic year in order to prevent the breakage of covid-secure bubbles within further education colleges.


Answered by
Gillian Keegan Portrait
Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
This question was answered on 11th September 2020

Students who leave school with a good grasp of English and maths increase their chances of securing employment, apprenticeship or going on to further education. It is important now more than ever to give this opportunity to students who have yet to secure a Level 2 in these essential subjects and we will continue to do so.

Young people from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds will be amongst those hardest hit by the unprecedented disruption to their education as a result of COVID-19. I recognise that colleges and their staff around the country have worked tremendously hard responding to this unprecedented challenge and working with us to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our students. Colleges and providers swiftly moved more learning online to allow students to continue with studies remotely.

We are aware that the COVID-19 outbreak has caused disruption to people of all ages in education, in particular lost teaching time. Many further education providers opened over the summer for priority learners, subject to the required safety measures being met. We know that we have the professional knowledge and expertise in the education system to ensure that students recover and get back on track. From Autumn 2020, all learners will return to a full high-quality education programme delivered by their college or post-16 learning provider. To support providers, additional funding of up to £96m for the academic year 2020/21 has been made available to schools, colleges and other 16-19 providers to provide small group tuition for disadvantaged students whose learning has been disrupted.

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