Covid: Catch-up tuition not helping poorest pupils, says NAO
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The government s programme to help pupils who have missed school time catch up may not be reaching the most disadvantaged children, a report says.
The National Tutoring Programme was launched last year to give extra tuition to the UK s poorest pupils.
But fewer than half of pupils who have already received tuition as part of the scheme are from the poorest families, a National Audit Office report found.
The Department for Education says it has invested £2bn to help pupils.
Chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier, said the Department for Education s failure to do its homework had hit children who were already most disadvantaged.
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School uniform grant 2021: How to claim £150 to help cover costs
7 Mar 2021, 7:00
Updated: 7 Mar 2021, 18:09
HARD-UP parents may be able to claim up to £150 to help cover the cost of school uniforms as pupils return to the classroom tomorrow.
The support is typically available to households on benefits, but the amount on offer varies wildly depending on where you live.
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Hard-up families may be able to claim up to £150 for the cost of school uniformsCredit: Alamy
A uniform costs £101.19 per child in secondary school on average, according to a retailer survey by The Schoolwear Association.
The cost means a million kids families have to cut back on food and other essentials to pay for it, a report by the The Children s Society has found.
Cllr Judith Blake, Chair of the Local Government Association s Children and Young People Board, responded to the Education Secretary’s announcement that placing vulnerable ch
Pandemic could impact children s mental health for years, report warns
Damage to children s mental health caused by lockdown and school closures could last for years, the Children’s Commissioner has warned today.
A new report accuses the Government of a lack of ambition for improving children s mental health services and calls for a wholesale change in the way services are provided.
This includes providing an NHS-funded counsellor in every school, boosting funding for children s mental health, expanding services, and eliminating the postcode lottery.
However, the report did find that some local areas are delivering vastly improved services for children.
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, said: Even before the COVID pandemic, we faced an epidemic of children’s mental health problems in England and a children’s mental health service that, though improving significantly, was still unable to provide the help hundreds of thousands of children required.