Nursery World - School catch-up tsar resigns in funding row

The prime minister’s catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins resigned on Wednesday night in response to the Government’s ‘half-hearted approach’ to education recovery for hundreds of thousands of children, whose learning has been disrupted by the pandemic.

Sir Kevan Collins has resigned as the Government's catch-up tsar in protest at the lack of funding for education recovery

The Education Recovery Commissioner’s resignation followed the announcement of £1.4 billion in new funding for extra tuition and teacher training by the education secretary Gavin Williamson made earlier yesterday morning.

Sir Kevan was appointed by Boris Johnson in February to develop a long-term plan to help children recover learning lost during the pandemic.

The Government funding amounts to just one tenth of the £15bn that Sir Kevan had recommended was needed for pupils to catch up with lost learning from Covid – equivalent for an average primary school of just £6,000, or £22 per child.

In his resignation letter to the prime minister, he wrote, 'When we met last week, I told you that I do not believe it will be possible to deliver a successful recovery without significantly greater support.'

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included