12Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Schools facing “tidal wave” of around 100,000 teacher absences

Schools facing “tidal wave” of around 100,000 teacher absences

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that over 300,000 children are off school alongside around 100,000 teachers and teaching assistants, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, Munira Wilson MP, said: "The Education Secretary is standing idly by as schools are facing a tidal wave of teacher absences. His failure to prepare has led to a slow-motion car crash as Covid mixes with the return to schools. "The Government's catch-up plans are a drop in the ocean, their ex-teacher recruitment campaign is nowhere to be seen, and it is unforgivable that ministers failed to equip classrooms with the air purifiers they need. "The Conservatives have failed to get a grip of Omicron in the education system and now we are seeing it wreak havoc."
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05Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Give £30 catch-up vouchers for every day a pupil misses to plug lost learning gap

Give £30 catch-up vouchers for every day a pupil misses to plug lost learning gap

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called for a £30 catch-up voucher for every day missed by primary and secondary school students for covid-related absence. At a rate of covid-related absence of 120,724 a week, as was seen in the most recent data, this scheme would cost £3.6 million a week - just over 1% of the Government's initial National Tutoring Programme catch-up fund. The voucher would be given to the parents of all pupils in state-funded schools to help cope with the difficulties of remote learning. It comes as the Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said that it could be impossible to avoid the return of remote learning as the Omicron variant causes havoc for teachers, pupils and parents on the day schools return. Studies from the Education Policy Institute have…
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31Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Guarantee Covid tests for teachers and pupils ahead of schools return, government urged

Guarantee Covid tests for teachers and pupils ahead of schools return, government urged

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have written to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi calling on him to provide a “cast-iron” guarantee that schools will be able to access Covid tests for teaching staff and pupils returning to the classroom next week. Without those tests available at the start of term, he risks breaking his promise to keep schools open. It comes amid warnings from headteachers that difficulties getting hold of lateral flow tests could lead to school closures or children returning to online learning. Last month, the Government said all secondary school students in England will be asked to take a Covid test on site following the Christmas break. Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: “It would be unforgivable for ministers to do even more damage to our children’s futures and…
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28Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Covid air filters for all classrooms half the cost of PM’s Royal Yacht

Covid air filters for all classrooms half the cost of PM’s Royal Yacht

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats estimate that putting an air purifier in every classroom in England would cost around £140 million, around half the price of Boris Johnson’s pet project - the new £250 million Royal Yacht. The cost would also be a fraction of Government expenditure on a botched Test and Trace system and dodgy PPE contracts. At present, Government guidance suggests that teachers should open external windows and internal doors to improve “natural ventilation” and schools “should balance the need for increased ventilation while maintaining a comfortable temperature” - difficult to do during the cold winter months. With criminal record checks acting as a brake on moves to get retired teachers to return to the classrooms, and barely half of teenagers yet to receive one jab, the dangers of schools…
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27Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Schools opening in January: Parents need clear plan not empty promises

Schools opening in January: Parents need clear plan not empty promises

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to set out a clear plan to keep schools open in January. It comes following reports in the Sunday Times that Boris Johnson has committed to keeping schools open, without making clear what mitigation measures will be put in place to keep Covid cases down. Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: "Our children have been failed again and again throughout this pandemic by Boris Johnson's government. Of course schools should stay open but he needs to explain how and with what help for teachers and parents. "From air purifiers to rolling out the vaccine to teenagers, this government has dragged its feet. Ministers must set out a clear plan to reassure families that schools will be kept open, instead of…
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14Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Zahawi on Marr: Schools crisis slipping from his grasp

Zahawi on Marr: Schools crisis slipping from his grasp

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Education Secretary’s failure this morning to guarantee that schools will not close this winter - nor reopen in the new year - in the face of the Omicron variant, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: “This failure to provide a cast-iron guarantee to parents, teachers and children on keeping our schools open just about says it all about this Government and their priorities. “Time and time again, our children have been badly let down by the Government’s inability to get on top of Covid. The Education Secretary promised to “get a grip” of this crisis, but all evidence suggests that it's slipping from his grasp as students miss out on millions of hours of lost learning every week. “Both pupil and teacher absences are through…
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01Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Zahawi breaks yet another promise as school absences soar by 80,000

Zahawi breaks yet another promise as school absences soar by 80,000

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have accused Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, of breaking more promises as new statistics from the Department for Education revealed 216,000 children have missed school over two weeks, a rise of 47%. Despite the Education Secretary’s promises to tackle these absences “head on” in October, these figures show 1 in 50 students have missed school during the last two weeks. This is in addition to his broken promises on “investing in schools” to beat Covid, with the Government only stumping up one-third of the recommended catch up funding. Zahawi also promised to “do far more for vulnerable children”, yet IFS figures show that the most deprived schools have been hit the hardest and the failure of the National Tutoring Programme. The party also says he has not listened…
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05Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Longer school days: pipe dream without proper funding

Longer school days: pipe dream without proper funding

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Department for Education report on proposals to lengthen the school day in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: "Extending the school day without the proper funding and support from teachers is nothing short of a pipe dream that will leave teachers on the frontline burnt out. "If the Education Secretary is serious about preventing pupils currently in school from missing out on more vital learning, he must listen to his own government advice and give schools the funding they need. "We need the full £15bn of catch up funding, catch up vouchers to help pupils get back on track, and a government prepared to take our children’s education and wellbeing seriously."
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25Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Ed Davey demands “emergency Budget for children” with £15 billion for Catch-Up classes

Ed Davey demands “emergency Budget for children” with £15 billion for Catch-Up classes

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey is demanding an “emergency Budget for children,” with a total of £15 billion of funding for catch-up classes. The Liberal Democrats are warning that parents and children are being “short-changed,” and that with the “Covid clouds gathering”, children risk paying the biggest price if restrictions are introduced again this winter. It comes after research by the Liberal Democrats reveals teachers have been off for over 267,000 days due to Covid since the return of school in September. It means children have lost out on the equivalent of 1.5 million teaching hours because of the government's failure to keep the virus in schools under control. Separate research by the Education Policy Institute last week warned that children could lose earnings of up to £46,000 each over…
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21Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government must commit £15bn on education catch-up

Government must commit £15bn on education catch-up

Parliamentary news
Reacting to the Education Policy Institute's report, which says "significant, additional spending" is needed to help pupils recover lost learning, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “Next week’s budget will be high stakes for our children’s futures. Rishi Sunak needs to step up so children aren’t left paying the price for the pandemic. "Lib Dems are demanding a no ifs, no buts commitment to stump up the £15 billion recommended by the government’s own catch-up tsar. "That must include the Liberal Democrat proposal for Catch-up Vouchers to empower parents and bring them into the heart of their child's education."
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