Longer school days and Saturday classes could help pupils catch up from lockdown, says Gavin Williamson

Longer school days and Saturday classes could be used to help pupils catch up with teaching they missed during lockdown, according to Gavin Williamson.

The Education Secretary said schools will assess the individual needs of their children, amid growing doubt over GCSE and A-level exams next summer with pupils predicted to be three months behind.

“That might mean extending the school day for some, that might mean Saturday classes for others,” he told the Commons.

“There are so many different interventions that can really deliver significant results in terms of helping youngsters catch up on the learning that they have lost.”

Mr Williamson insisted that schools will only ever be closed as an “absolute last resort”, despite at least five in England and Wales shutting down on Monday as teachers and pupils tested positive for Covid-19.

Days after beginning to reopen full-time for the first since March last week, other schools have sent hundreds of pupils home to self-isolate for 14 days - including entire year groups.

At the Samuel Ward Academy in Haverhill, Suffolk, five teachers have tested positive, while at St Augustine’s Catholic College in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, all 160 Year 9 pupils have been sent home to quarantine for two weeks.

Speaking in the Commons, Labour MP Matt Western asked Mr Williamson if he had a grip on schools reopening, noting: “Just in the last week, a few days ago at the start of term, we’ve had 46 cases in schools across the UK.

“In Scotland, there were 86 cases, a total of 158 schools already have cases.”

Mr Williamson replied that the Government is “very much” in control over the return of schools, insisting “clear guidance” directs teachers what works best for catch-up options.

But analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that lockdown dramatically widened learning gaps between rich and poor primary pupils, with children from poorer families completing at least one hour less of virtual learning a day than their better-off peers.

Headteachers have warned it could take months or even years to get pupils back on track.

The Government has touted a "short delay" to next summer’s exam series - without eating into the summer holiday - to allow learners to cover missed content. Ofqual, the exam regulator, is in talks with the education sector over the move.

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