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Department for Education ‘unprepared’ for coronavirus (COVID-19), report finds

Published on: 26 May 2021
Published by LNB News

LNB News 26/05/2021

Document Information

Issue Date: 26 May 2021

Published Date: 26 May 2021

Jurisdiction(s): England

Article summary

The Public Accounts Committee has published a report which has found that the Department for Education (DfE) had ‘no plan’ in place for how to adapt to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, despite being involved in a cross-government exercise on how to prepare for a pandemic. The report states that DfE had set ‘no standards for in-school or remote learning’ which resulted in ‘very unequal experiences’ for children. The damaging effects were felt worse by children already facing adversity, the report says, with referrals to social care services falling, vulnerable children’s attendance dropping, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities losing access to specialist help and equipment, which the report states increased risks to their health and welfare. In addition, the report raises concerns that the carch-up programme ‘may not be reaching the most disadvantaged children’, with ‘little specific detail’ as to how the £1.7bn committed to the programme can best be used.

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