Derbyshire council welcomes government’s £1.4 billion investment for school Covid catch-up programme

The Department for Education has pledged £1.4 billion for the proposals which could see thousands of pupils in Derbyshire and other parts of England offered up to 100 million hours of tuition and more funding for high-quality teaching training to ensure children progress.

Speaking on Wednesday, Prime minister Boris Johnson said the funding package – which will be in addition to the £1.7 billion already announced for catch-up – should "give parents the confidence" that their children would be supported.

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Derbyshire County Council said it is delighted with the news and that it looks forward to seeing what it means for children across the county.

“We’re delighted to see that the Government is investing in the future of the children across the country and throughout the whole of Derbyshire and we look forward to seeing the detail of what this will mean for the county’s young people,” a Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said.

“Ensuring that young people are not left behind is a priority for us and we welcome the investment to support the tremendous efforts of all the teaching and non-teaching staff in every setting, school and college who have worked tirelessly throughout the whole of the pandemic to keep the county open and young people learning.

“Finally, I also want to pay tribute to the army of parents and carers who have brilliantly supported their children via home learning. We’re always ambitious for more investment, but the announcement is welcome news.”

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