A “GENERATION of children” could be damaged by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic unless the government takes faster and more effective action, MPs have said.

The public accounts committee (PAC) said today it was “alarming” that it may take a decade for the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and others to return to pre-pandemic levels.

In a report, the group said it is “not confident” that schools will be able to afford to provide the tutoring required to support all pupils who need it once the government withdraws its National Tutoring Programme (NTP) subsidy.

The committee said: “There is a risk that without this central subsidy, the NTP will wither on the vine.

“We are not convinced that the department fully appreciates the pressures schools are under as they seek to help pupils catch up.”

The committee called on the Department for Education (DfE) to take more effective action to increase participation in the NTP to ensure “all pupils get the support they need.”

It also called on the DfE to take targeted action to reduce absence rates among disadvantaged pupils and to publish a plan on how it will reduce the disadvantage gap.

The report said: “Without the DfE taking faster and more effective recovery action, the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic will be with us for a long time, damaging the prospects of a generation of children and entrenching disadvantage.”

Committee chairwoman Meg Hillier said that the DfE “does not seem to appreciate the pressures schools are under.”

National Education Union (NEU) joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said the government was “in denial” on the scale of the problems and the depth of the change that is needed.

He called on the government to ensure that NTP funding is “adequate and long-term,” invest to stem the recruitment and retention crisis, and provide more support for mental health. 

NASUWT teachers’ union general secretary Patrick Roach said that a fully funded national recovery plan must be a priority for any government that cares about children’s futures.

Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) director of policy Julie McCulloch said that even before the pandemic, the rate of closing the disadvantage  gap “moved at a snail’s pace because of the lack of a concerted government strategy and investment.”

She said the committee’s findings were a “damning indictment” of DfE’s “failure to listen to evidence” from unions.