Early years leader calls resignation of education catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins 'a real blow'

The resignation of the government's education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins has been described by an early years leader as “a real blow” for nurseries and children in their care.

Government's education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins quit on 2 June. Credit: DfE

Sir Kevan Collins, who was appointed to lead the government’s coronavirus education task force in February, resigned this week after ministers ignored his proposals for a £15 billion package to give children extra time, teaching and tutoring over the next three years.

The government’s decision to spend only £1.4 billion, led Sir Kevan Collins to quit and sparked shock and disappointment from early years leaders.

'A real blow'

Stella Ziolkowski, director of quality and training at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said: “Sir Kevan has a wealth of experience in education and supporting young children and families.

“His resignation is a real blow that raises important questions about the Government’s commitment to supporting educational recovery from children’s early years through to the end of compulsory education.

“Children have missed out on so many opportunities and experiences due to the pandemic, not just in formal early education settings like nurseries but at home with friends and wider families too.

Stella Ziolkowski added: “The funding announced by the Government to date does not reflect the scale of the challenges faced by nurseries and early years settings in supporting children’s early learning and development."

The government’s extra £1.4bn over three years for education recovery is in addition to the £1.7bn already promised to help children catch up on missed learning during the pandemic. It brings the total promised for education recovery to just over £3 billion.

A total of £400 million will be offered to early years practitioners and school teachers for training and support.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of Early Years Alliance, said that since children have returned to nurseries in greater numbers, early years practitioners are “most concerned about their personal, social and emotional development”.

Mr Leitch said: “Additional training for early years practitioners is particularly welcome since tight budgets leave many settings with little money to invest in upskilling the workforce.

“That said, even with this uplift, we note that the early years still only accounts for around 6% of overall recovery spending. As such, we hope today’s news will soon be followed by further investment into our vital sector.”

Sir Kevan Collins reveals in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson: “Without a comprehensive and urgent response, we risk failing hundreds of thousands of pupils.

“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 than the government has, to date, indicated it intends to provide.

"I do not believe it is credible that a successful recovery can be achieved with a programme of support of this size."

13.5bn needed to 'reverse the damage to pupils' learning'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Credit: BBC

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has said £13.5bn is needed by the government as a three-year funding package ‘to reverse the damage to pupils’ learning as a result of the pandemic’ seen by pupils since March 2020.

The EPI said in its report (published May 2021): ‘To reverse months of lost learning and prevent total lost future earnings for pupils running into the tens of billions, the research shows that the government will need to put in place an ambitious, multi-year programme of support’.

Jon Andrews, head of analysis at EPI said: “At £50 per pupil, our analysis shows that today’s funding package is a long way off what is required to remedy the lost learning seen by pupils over the last year.

“Today’s proposals are an inadequate response to the challenge the country is facing with young people’s education, wellbeing, and mental health.”

On the day of Sir Kevan's appointment on 3 February, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at the time: "I am absolutely determined that no child will be left behind as a result of the pandemic.

"Our top priority is to get schools open again and once they are, we will make sure that teachers and students are equipped with the resources and the time they need to make up for lost learning". Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, which represents more than 29,000 school leaders in early years, primary, secondary schools, said: "There is little point in appointing an internationally-respected education expert as catch-up Tsar if you fail to listen to what they have to say.

“The Treasury have refused to respond to the education crisis in the same way as they have the economic one. It is completely understandable that Sir Kevan chose not to become a pawn in whatever game the government is playing."

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