Robert Halfon, chair of the Commons select committee on education and MP for Harlow, is calling for schools to run “rocket-boosted summer holiday activities programmes” to help reduce the gap in children’s education exacerbated by the pandemic.The £270 million that the government has proposed will go into existing holiday programmes offering meals, sports and some lessons – but he wants more done.
Last summer, there was a not so secret and botched government plan to open schools during the summer and invite pupils to education camps. Using the summer season for catch up programmes is on the cards once again and, for Halfon, this is a step in the right direction.
