COVID-19 Bulletins
As you know, we have been sharing updates on what is happening across the alliance. For the foreseeable future we will continue to share information, including:
Offers and asks for support
A database of resources, services and products for young people, parents and educators which is updated daily
Some highlights from initiatives going on across the Alliance
Events and meetings being held by the Fair Education Alliance and wider networks
Funding pots available
If you want to include anything in an upcoming bulletin get in touch here.
Please find all published bulletins below:
Focus: Getting food to young people and access to technology.
Focus: National Voucher Scheme launches for children on free school meals and members undertake research on the impact of COVID-19 on education.
Focus: Teach First lead the education sectors call for increased digital access for disadvantaged children.
Focus: Collective responses to crisis and call for the government to establish a youth employment task force.
Focus: A Youth Employment Group is formed and vouchers for free school meals are extended throughout the Easter holidays.
Focus: Sharing best practice during lockdown and YouGov poll highlights educational inequalities after school closures.
Focus: The DFE announced a package of support, including additional funding to help schools.
Focus: UK parliament launches an inquiry on the impact of COVID-19 on education and children's services and Sutton Trust reports shows that the impact of COVID-19 could impact young people well into employment.
Focus: UK Youth highlight the impact COVID-19 is having and will continue to have on the youth sector.
Bulletin #10 - 15th April 2020
Focus: Government releases new guidance on school funding and school and college performance measures.
Bulletin #11 - 16th April 2020
Focus: How the alliance and beyond is reflecting and instigating change in these uncertain times.
Bulletin #12 - 21st April 2020
Focus: The government announces:
a) The Launch of the Oak Online Academy
b) The Launch of BBC Bitesize Daily and
c) That they will be providing laptops and tablets for to help disadvantaged young people who will sit key exams next year (namely, year 10's). This includes giving disadvantaged secondary school pupils and care leavers who are preparing for exams free 4G routers to get them connected whilst schools are closed.
Bulletin #13 - 23rd April 2020
Focus: How the alliance and beyond is responding to developments and challenges in these uncertain times.
Bulletin #14 - 30th April 2020
Focus: How the alliance and beyond is preparing to go forward from COVID-19
Focus: Introducing our roundtable series on collective responses to policy
Focus: How organisations are looking beyond the current situation and preparing for a post COVID-19 world whilst mitigating the issues that the education system is currently facing.
Focus: In light of mental health awareness week we focused particular attention to the mental health and wellbeing of young people.
Focus: From Monday schools will not just be open for children of key workers, but select primary years too. Whilst this marks a pivotal moment in education during this pandemic, we recognise the impact of Covid-19 will continue into the long-term and there is an ongoing importance of continuing to support all young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, now and after COVID-19.
Special Bulletin: Solidarity Against Structures of Racism - 9th June 2020
We, the Fair Education Alliance, exist to fight inequality together. Inequality in society and education is a patchwork of disadvantage – including socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, LGBTQ+ and geographic factors – that makes up the fabric of an unfair system. The events of the last month have been seismic, highlighting longstanding racism that is embedded in our society. The need and opportunity for our collective work to tackle structural racism has never burnt more strongly.
We have heard Black leaders clearly state that ‘Black and Minority Ethnic’ must not be looked at as a whole, but instead show the nuance between the groups given the diversity of their backgrounds. Therefore, we explicitly focused this bulletin on tackling racism towards Black individuals and communities but will continue our work to explore and act on other areas of injustice.
Focus: A briefing is due next week by Gavin Williamson on catch-up provision for schools. Educational disadvantage and systemic inequality is not a new issue, but the implications of Covid-19 have worsened the situation and made it much more visible. The media focus on these issues in the last few weeks is testament to that. As the public see more clearly the inequalities in our system, now is the time for the government and society to act.
Focus: The last three months have seen rapidly changing circumstances in education as the pandemic continues to unfold. Each pivot that schools have had to make – including closures, implementing blended models of learning, and managing staggered returns by year group - has had both short and longer-term implications for teaching and learning.
Special Bulletin: Pride - 25th June 2020
As the Fair Education Alliance we work towards tackling inequalities in the education system, with a key focus on wellbeing. We believe that this cannot be achieved if we do not champion LGBTQ+ causes within the education system. In this bulletin we showcase some of the amazing work that is happening in schools and the fantastic interventions that specifically help LGBTQ+ people experiencing inequalities.
Focus: Following the outbreak of COVID-19 we have responded with what we believe needs to happen in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in both the short-term and long-term. This has included our collective response to the Education Select Committee Inquiry on the Impact of COVID-19 on Education. We are also aware that there have also been a number of significant announcements in the past few weeks with regard to catch-up and the National Tutoring Programme. However, there is still more to do.
Focus: Whilst we recognise the effort being put forward by government to help young people, and we continue to celebrate as policies and guarantees are publicly announced, we have some big concerns including:
Whether these policies sufficiently focus on disadvantage
Whether efforts are sufficiently focused on wellbeing and skills
What can we do regarding key groups being 'missed' i.e. post 16 and early years
How long term these policies are and what are the implementation risks, as there are lots of short term initiatives and “headlines” with no follow through. How is this us driving towards (or not) the wider vision we had for a fair education system before Covid-19
Focus: In the last few months there has been more collective action work and collaboration across the Fair Education Alliance network than ever before, with connection calls, collective action groups, bulletins and roundtables. However, last week we shared our concerns, which we raised in the Overarching Campaign group, the second “Vision for Education: Joining the Dots” meeting (wherein we met with a variety of other coalitions and campaigning organisations across the sector), and our Board Meeting. Watch this space for updates.
Focus: Yesterday, the Fair Education Alliance hosted a workshop on Racial Diversity in the Charity Sector. This workshop follows on from our commitment to social justice and the statement we put out in March, expressing solidarity against structures of racism (linked here).
It was great to see the appetite for wanting to start this conversation and engage in discussions about race with openness, honesty, humility and hope. We know we have a long way to go until racial equality is achieved, but yesterday was a step towards change. As was said in the meeting, it's time to get comfortable with discomfort and challenge ourselves to do better.
Focus: Welcome to our “new normal”.
Going forward you can expect to receive bulletins on a weekly basis. These bulletins will contain:
- Secretariat news
- Sector news
- Asks and offers of support
- Member news
In addition, instead of just hearing from me, you will be hearing from the entire Fair Education Alliance team. Each week you will meet a member of the Secretariat as they share what has happened in the sector over the last week.
If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is to rethink what we're doing and focus on the long-term impact. We hope by sharing these bulletins we can continue to offer you relevant insight into the sector, be a platform for you to share relevant events or information and provide a way for you to offer and ask for support.