The government’s handling of education during the pandemic

[lonelyplanet]

It is unforgivable the way education has been given so little priority over the last 18 months. Children, especially those in exam years, deserve better.

"The government's failure – indeed refusal – to make contingency plans for schools and exams in the summer of 2020 is the most “unforgiveable aspect” of its handling of education during the coronavirus pandemic.

Published ahead of the 2021 A-Level and GCSE results and based on interviews with government insiders and education experts, this report exposes how decisions were taken during the most disruptive period in children’s education since the Second World War."

The full report can be downloaded here:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/schools-and-coronavirus

The last minute diktats during that schools have to scramble to arrange during the holidays must stop!

Johnson sending primary schools in for a day in January at the height of the second wave when the staff hadn't had time to be vaccinated.

Cherry picking school years to return (late spring 2020) with no contact or in person education for other year groups.

Allowing some children back into school with furloughed parents while other children had to work remotely while there own parents continued to work too!

It's a catalogue of failures.What will next month bring??!

It's a catalogue of failures.What will next month bring

I think we can foresee chaos with the just-announced but also not currently planned vaccination of firstly 16 and 17 year olds and then over 12s.

The JCVI say it will disrupt school as pupils will be off with side effects? Really? I thought the side effects of vaccination were fewer than the side effects of Covid? So not vaccinating them is even more disruptive.

Will they vaccinate in school or will it be like an orthodontist appointment and the pupil pops out for an hour?

I'm sure the government and DfE will find a way to make it more complicated and chaotic than it needs to be.

Then we can look forward to policies on how to treat double-vaccinated pupils.

That is before we even think about the poor pupils' education and life chances, already severely impaired compared to an equivalent student 3 years older if the pupil was unlucky enough to be taking GCSEs in 2020 and A levels in 2022.

What will next month bring??!

The first question is - what will next week bring? These reports and papers published now are only the start of the shit storm for results days next week. Again poor children.

Next month - More last minute guidance, no vaccinations for kids, covid, disruption, absent staff etc etc.

Also poor teachers. They will have to deal with the fall out from next week during their holidays.

@lonelyplanet

Also poor teachers. They will have to deal with the fall out from next week during their holidays.

The secondary heads I know have all taken the only holiday they are going to get over the last 10 days or so - they took a few days to clear up the mess from the end of term and know they will be in full time from this weekend onward, dealing with results and appeals followed by second-guessing plans for September. The early results and the fact that it will be schools who receive appeals about grades mean that the heads, having generally worked flat out since the pandemic began, have 7-10 days maximum to recharge this summer.

I'll read the report later but am sure to agree. The fundamental to me is that the inactions/late actions of the Prime Minister in March 2020, again in September and then in December probably meant at least 8 weeks more of home schooling than should have been the case. A total of 8 weeks in a period of about 38 school weeks, so significant.

Their response has been to offer Latin to a handful of students! Mr Williamson - Te futueo et caballum tuum.

I'm a primary head and I've been informed of the next instalment of Catch Up funding for disadvantaged students! Hooray! I sat in my office today jotting ideas on a postage stamp. We've been allocated £609. That will just about pay for an advert for an additional member of staff. Sadly there is no money to pay for them to do their actual job.

The first question is - what will next week bring? These reports and papers published now are only the start of the shit storm for results days next week.
Fucking dreading this.... People keep saying it can't be as bad as last year but I think they're seriously underestimating Gavin Williamson.

And here it comes..... www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/05/grade-inflation-forces-ministers-pay-extra-medical-school-places-england

[quote SpringheelJack]And here it comes..... www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/05/grade-inflation-forces-ministers-pay-extra-medical-school-places-england[/quote]
Obviously a step in the right direction, but again it is too little, too late.

It doesn't help those perfectly qualified students who didn't even get an offer this year who would have in a normal year (see the article above about the dentistry student and the 43 places available at Liverpool in 2021, who didn't declare that they had already awarded over 100 places to 2020 deferrals).

Also is it enough even to cover the deferrals from 2020, let alone cover for grade inflation due to school-set exams? Plus many will be deferring to 2022 so that their university experience is not marred by Covid and online learning, so 2022 entrants will still be significantly disadvantaged.

And I query the attitude that expanding places is somehow bad, when candidates with the highest grades and relevant work experience cannot get a single offer in the current situation. With the only advice given in the Guardian article above from an admissions officer being to apply to lower ranking universities for lower ranking courses, which is irrelevant for medicine/dentistry/vet etc. It can only be good if the UK can offer the chance to train to be a doctor, dentist, nurse etc to UK residents rather than importing already-trained professionals from abroad where ironically it is often not nearly as hard to get a place at medical/dental/nursing school. IMO this expansion in UK training places is a trend that should continue.

when candidates with the highest grades and relevant work experience cannot get a single offer in the current situation
Is this really the case though? Medicine is highly competitive and candidates with impressive looking profiles will always lose out to candidates with even-more-impressive profiles. Plenty of offers have been made this year - although any sensible university has been a bit conservative about it.

well, yes, just read the Guardian article linked to above that focussed on the difficult position faced by the highest achieving pupils who didn't get a single offer in e.g. dentistry, economics.
The gap between rich and poor is widening this year and going forward. The richest can afford summer schools, paid work experience, they have contacts and can gain other relevant experience, maybe their mum has the spare time and education to set up an instagram account in their name with lots of lovely subject-relevant posts to boost their DC's application etc. The very poorest will qualify for widening access programme. But in between will be the children of nurses and other less well remunerated professionals who have degrees and don't qualify for free school meals, but who don't have access to the application-boosting resources of the rich. So the places go to the affluent and connected and the very poor.
I went to a conference for getting in medicine/dentistry/vet and all the students they interviewed had paid thousands for summer schools to boost their applications and build links with admissions departments.
Anyway, back to high-achieving candidates getting zero offers:

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/23/uk-universities-making-fewer-offers-to-students-to-avoid-overcrowding

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/may/22/top-pupils-rejected-by-universities-in-a-levels-fiasco-fallout

Obviously a step in the right direction, but again it is too little, too late.

You are missing the point.

The stress on schools and students will not be relieved by a few more places opening for medical students.

Ok I'm probably not in the best place to comment...but here goes. This shambles has, in part, cost my y10 son his life. 4 weeks ago he took his life after just finishing mocks. He was a child who liked to know the 'plan' the stress played havoc with his mental health - though we had no warning signs - homeschool, exams, what was he working towards??? It's nor the schools fault its the system. Children are not at the heart of the system they are being treated as disposable exam fodder. I accept my thinking may not be the most rational but I am angry - if you think ds2 will be doing y6 SATS next year your on to a loser - I for one won't let it happen - his year 6 will be about catching up at his own pace not taking some meaningless test to keep the gov happy. Rant over.

And the universities that took many months to tell candidates they hadn't got a place are the worst. They denied the candidates other options, such as applying for apprenticeships. There really should be a rule about letting candidates know whether they do or don't have a place within a certain time.
After the application and interview, why should it take months and months? That kind of thing only benefits kids whose parents manage their social media with application-boosting posts (it is nearly always the parents). What else can the universities possibly be taking months and months and months to research after the contact with the real-life applicant has been achieved in an interview?

Makinglists, I am so sorry to read your post and my apologies for the cross-post at the same time.
My sincere deepest condolences to you and your family. Your poor DS.
I agree, the pupils are the last priority in all of this. Every other level above them has put their own needs first, leaving pupils last. Yes, protect your DS2 from the broken education and exam system in this country.
Again, my heart aches for you and your family.

Oh, I see what you mean. I was reading "highest achieving" as meaning best overall profile, or highest ranked all round, rather than just A level grades. I was thinking "well offers are being made, they are only going to go to the highest achievers". But yes, more kids with 3 A*s but less experience/lower UCAT scores will lose out given the deferrals from last year's grade inflation.

It'll be interesting to see what space there is during clearing. I know our university was cautious about offers, but as a result we expect to have places in Clearing. It was deemed better to not get ourselves over-loaded by promising places to the usual number when grades were likely to be inflated, than to make fewer offers and mop up any spare places through Clearing. We won't be the only place that's taken that approach.

Makinglists
I'm so sorry. I was also typing as you were posting that. You have every right to be angry. This mess has a devastating impact on young people. I'm very sorry for your loss.

Makinglists - I'm so sorry.

@Makinglists I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your family, you must be in shock, disbelief at the loss of your son and understandably angry. Take care