Lessons from lockdown: improving learning and addressing disadvantage in the next stage of the COVID-19 pandemic

This webinar brought together insights from education research we have funded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how teachers, parents and children have experienced lockdown and to explore how that should inform education provision in the next stage of the pandemic.

Following presentations from Angela Donkin (NFER) and Sarah Cattan (IFS) on the latest evidence, we were joined by the Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Committee, Carolyn Roberts, Head of Thomas Tallis School, and Emily Frith, Head of Policy at the Children’s Commissioner for England, who considered key questions arising from the research:

• In any future episodes of partial lockdown, ‘blended learning’ must ensure equity for all pupils. What needs to happen to ensure that effective remote learning is coupled with high-quality in-school teaching for vulnerable pupils, children of keyworkers, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with unsuitable home learning environments?

• What can be done to support pupils with learning recovery, including effective targeting and use of the Government’s £1 billion catch-up support package?

The webinar was chaired by our Director of Education Josh Hillman and featured presentations on two key projects funded by the Foundation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Research from the NFER on the impact of COVID-19 on mainstream schools in England. This project has already shed much-needed light on how schools are responding to the pandemic and the impact on pupils and teachers, as well as identifying which groups have been particularly badly affected.
• Research from the IFSon the effects of COVID-19 on families’ time-use and child development, which has been at the forefront of understanding how families are adjusting to the pandemic, including inequalities in remote learning and the consequences for educational outcomes.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with Molly Imrie, Events & Communications Officer (mimrie@nuffieldfoundation.org)