Catch-up programme needs rethink to solve inequalities exposed by Covid

Existing vulnerabilities and learning gaps have been exacerbated by the pandemic to such an extent that they are unlikely to be solved by a quick “catch-up” initiative, the Local Government Association has warned in a new report.

The report, commissioned by the LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, shows that education inequalities have grown during COVID-19 lockdowns, with potential gaps in learning greater for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and other vulnerabilities.

The report highlights how the pandemic has led leaders across education and children’s services to gain a more sophisticated and shared understanding of vulnerability and hardship. This has fostered stronger information sharing and joint working to support vulnerable families, and in some cases, exposed levels of deprivation and hardship that were previously hidden to settings, schools and services.

The report says schools and councils have seen increasing levels of financial hardship and poverty in families through increased eligibility for free school meals, and higher levels of demand for support from early help services, including from those “off the radar” and more self-referrals.

Other concerning issues highlighted, include a backlog of demand for statutory children’s social care concentrated into much shorter timeframes after all pupils returned to settings and schools, with a slowdown in family courts leading to more children remaining in care for longer periods. Some councils reported a fourfold increase in families requiring support.

The report highlighted significant pressures on budgets as a direct result of the pandemic - due to increased financial hardship, higher expenditure on items such as IT, supply staff, cleaning and manage test-and-trace, and increased costs to children’s social care. Several schools had to set deficit budgets.
Although schools and councils recognised the pressures that the Government was under in responding to rapidly-changing circumstances and unprecedented challenges, and appreciated opportunities for two-way dialogue, they described a strained relationship between central and local government, with plans being developed unilaterally and without the usual consultation and testing with councils.
 
The report stresses that local education and children’s services will only genuinely “build back better” if a long-term strategy is established which provides intensive, holistic, joined-up support for families at risk and those who are potentially vulnerable. It says this needs to be delivered in a pro-active and preventative way, supported by dedicated long-term funding for early intervention focused on the most vulnerable communities and the most disadvantaged pupils.

It also say there needs to be a re-casting of the partnership between central and local government, based on mutual trust and genuine, two-way communication to share, test and develop a consistent national policy framework, both now and in a post-pandemic future.

Councils, acting as local convenors, can bring schools, further education, health, children’s social services and voluntary and private sector businesses together to implement education recovery and are ideally placed to undertake this role locally.

Furthermore, councils and school leaders strongly believe that the pandemic has necessitated a rapid expansion of virtual working that should form part of the toolkit for education and children’s services in future.