WE will not build the longer-term recovery we need without ambition matched with greater investment in children, young people and our education system.

The last 18 months have had a major toll on children’s education. Millions of days of face-to-face education have already been lost, while children have also endured the national trauma of lockdowns, social isolation and the devastation of family and friends lost to coronavirus. 

While government ministers appear dewy-eyed when talking about the importance of catch-up tutoring, they have fallen well short of their promised investment in education recovery, leaving England lagging behind the commitments made by countries such as the United States and the Netherlands.