UK Labour attacks pitiful support for pupils as analysis shows 8 weeks of school lost this year
August 7, 2021, 3:28 am

UK Labour attacks pitiful support for pupils as analysis shows 8 weeks of school lost this year

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According to the Independent, UK Labour has warned that the government’s “pitiful” catch-up funding will leave millions of children without extra support.

The warning comes as a new analysis shows pupils in England lost eight weeks of school teaching this year.

The Independent reported as saying, Keir Starmer’s party said 346 million days of face-to-face learning were lost to England’s pupils during the academic year gone by because of disruption caused by the Covid crisis.

It added, the opposition party urged the government to consider putting £15bn into catch-up funding – warning that the current £1.4bn package could leave many of the poorest pupils behind.

The government’s recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins quit his post in June in protest at a funding plan he described as falling “far short of what is needed” to alleviate the impact of the pandemic on children’s learning.

The catch-up funding – amounting to £6,000 per year for each primary school – was denounced by school leaders as “pitiful”.

Read more: British study reaffirms Coronavirus is rarely deadly for children

New Labour analysis shows that around 560,000 year 11 students will leave secondary school this summer without any of the government’s catch-up support, while over the next four years nearly two million pupils will miss out necessary recovery support.

Labour attacks ‘pitiful’ support for pupils as analysis shows eight weeks of school lost this year

Labour attacks ‘pitiful’ support for pupils as analysis shows eight weeks of school lost this year

The party warned that lost teaching time had not been felt evenly during the pandemic – and some more required more catch-up support than others. Pupils on free school meals are 30 per cent more likely to have been out of school in the autumn term, according to its analysis.

Kate Green MP, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “The Conservatives have treated children as an afterthought failing to keep them learning together in school with their friends.

“Ministers have now compounded this failure with an utterly inadequate recovery plan which will leave millions of children without any additional support, showing a shocking lack of ambition for their future ambitions and life chances.

Source: independent
Image source: PA-independent

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”