The chief of Ofsted, England’s school watchdog, has said it is in children’s interest to return to school “as soon as possible”.
Amanda Spielman told a panel of MPs home and online learning were “imperfect substitutes” for school, however, she did acknowledge that adult health and infection risk needed to be taken into account.
Ms Spielman also said she expected to see a rise in the number of children needing some form of social care in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last weeks, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, said no date had been set for schools to reopen to pupils other than key workers’ children and those considered vulnerable.
Ms Spielman told the Education Select Committee on Monday: “We have to accept that what can be done while schools are substantially closed is a very poor substitute for full normal education.
“Children are losing education and it’s not just the children who are disadvantaged or academically behind, it’s children without motivations.
“And it would be unrealistic for anyone, including me, to expect the vast majority of children to have made the same progress they would have made if they’d been in school, which is why I truly believe that it’s in children’s interests to be back in school as early as possible.”
She said she understands that “children’s interests alone don’t dictate the decision”, but urged schools to plan for how they could best return to normal education and “making sure children feel that normality”.
“We need to recognise that education has been substantially disrupted and will continue to be disrupted for some period after schools reopen, given what we know about likely expectations around social distancing and shielding,” Ms Spielman said.
She added: “We need to make sure that parents get the assurance they need that schools are looking after their children properly and educating them well.”
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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