The poorest pupils will miss out most due to the coronavirus shutdown, warns Ofsted chief
- Ofsted chief warns poorest pupils to miss out most due to coronavirus lockdown
- Amanda Spielman says the closure of schools will be worst for most deprived
- No clear date for children to go back to their studies amid continuing crisis
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The most deprived pupils are set to be worst hit by the coronavirus school shutdown, Ofsted’s chief inspector warned today.
Amanda Spielman said the chaos caused by the killer disease is going to present the ‘biggest problem for the poorest, the lowest-achieving academically and the least motivated children’.
Schools, colleges and nurseries across the UK closed their doors to the majority of pupils, apart from the children of key workers and vulnerable youngsters, five weeks ago.
Amanda Spielman said the chaos caused by the killer disease is going to present the ‘biggest problem for the poorest, the lowest-achieving academically and the least motivated children’
Addressing a virtual Education Select Committee, Ms Spielman said she was ‘seriously concerned’ about the impact of partial school closures on the most vulnerable pupils.
She told MPs: ‘Whether we like it or not, it is going to widen gaps, especially in the short term.’
Asked about alternative provision settings that have shut amid the lockdown, she said: ‘The longer the closure, or almost closure, the greater the problems for those children.’
However, on the attainment gap, the chief inspector added that she believed many children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, would ‘bounce back pretty fast’ once they had returned to school.
Her comments came after official figures last week revealed that only a small percentage of vulnerable children are attending schools which have been kept open for them during the lockdown.
Addressing MPs’ concerns about the impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged children, Ms Spielman said: ‘We know that home and online learning are very imperfect substitutes for the school experience.
‘We know that children are losing education.
‘It is not just children who are disadvantaged or academically behind. It is children without motivation. So it is in children’s interests to get back into school as soon as possible.’
Pupils work at home during the coronavirus lockdown that has meant schools being closed since before Easter
Ms Spielman also told MPs that she does not expect full routine Ofsted inspections to resume in schools before the end of the summer term.
Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the committee, called on Ofsted to set out how it will ensure that vulnerable children get the education and support they need amid the outbreak.
He suggested that Ofsted inspectors, many of which are not currently carrying out inspections, could volunteer with mentoring disadvantaged children who have fallen behind during the lockdown.
Addressing Ms Spielman, Mr Halfon said: ‘My concern, from what you have said so far, is that there doesn’t seem (to be) from Ofsted a special focus on the left-behind children in the coronavirus and a special effort to make sure they catch up when schools reopen.
‘I haven’t heard anything substantive or any thoughts or imaginative thinking about what should be done and what Ofsted’s role is.’
In response to the concerns, Ms Spielman said Ofsted’s current inspection framework already focuses on children with the ‘greatest difficulties’.