аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø¿ª½±

The Early Years Alliance has responded to reports this morning that the government will not seek to find a replacement for the Education Recovery Commissioner role, following the resignation of Sir Kevan Collins on 2 June 2021.

The 'Recovery Tsar' resigned after the government committed just £1.4bn to their plan, compared to the £15bn he advised was needed to help children 'catch up' from learning they had missed during the pandemic.

Commenting, Early Years Alliance chief executive, Neil Leitch, said:

"We are incredibly concerned by reports that the government is not planning to appoint a new Education Recovery Commissioner. Children and young people across the country have lost huge amounts of learning over the last 18 months, and it beggars belief that the government does not think it necessary to have anyone leading its education recovery programme.

"Sir Kevan Collins set out an ambitious plan for recovery and crucially, championed the early years and the need for much greater post-pandemic support for our sector. Given how overlooked and undervalued our sector has been throughout the pandemic, his resignation was already a great cause for concern. The news that government isn't bothering to replace him is even more worrying.

"If the education recovery programme is to have a genuine, tangible impact on children and young people, the government first needs to recognise and acknowledge the scale of the challenge we are currently facing. Without an independent voice leading this process, it's hard to see how this will happen."