I am CEO of GLUU, an EdTech+ provider at the intersection of the education and health industries. As a former teacher, I strongly believe we need to concentrate on integrating online tutoring with mental health provision. We must deal with the loss of confidence in our young people and identify why many are finding it so hard to return to lessons.
In 2022, schools are still under enormous pressure. Covid is still a factor in staff shortages and teachers need to make sure all children are making suitable academic progress. The government has taken action and the Department for Education is doing everything it can to attract and retain teachers. However, it’s clear that the whole education sector needs to find ways to create capacity within the current workforce.
We have learned from lockdown that schools have made massive strides in embracing digital learning, and that this in turn has opened up new approaches that can engage our students. It also highlighted that we need to embed these opportunities into the system, and to give our young people skills needed to thrive in the 21st century workplace.
In particular, we should be concerned about the loss of social and academic confidence in our young people post-pandemic. Two million pupils are regularly missing school: 1.8m pupils missed at least 10% of their education in the Autumn ’21 term, and over 120,000 missed more than 50%. As ever with data of this nature, the impact is most acute in our most disadvantaged communities.
The way forward
The Department for Education needs to work collaboratively with the companies, charities and multi academy trusts that have been on the educational frontline during the pandemic. These organisations have gathered evidence, both official and anecdotal, of what works.