Children across the country will be supported to reach their full potential as funding to support children’s education recovery will be doubled in secondary schools from next year.

Children and young people faced unique challenges during the pandemic, and the £1 billion Recovery Premium, shared between schools, is turbo-boosting schools’ work to get pupils back on track by funding evidence-based activities from additional tutoring, to extra time in school, or speech and language therapy.

The funding will enable schools to provide further support for pupils above and beyond that already provided by the vital National Tutoring Programme.

Indicative rates for schools published today (Thursday 26 May) show a typical secondary school will receive over £60,000 next year – up from around £30,000 this year. A typical primary school will receive almost £7,000 – a further increase from last year.

The funding will help support schools deliver on the Education Secretary’s pledge to parents, that any child falling behind in English or maths, will receive targeted support to get back on track – with parents kept up to date on their progress.

The announcement comes as new data is published on the National Tutoring Programme, showing over 1.5 million courses have started since the programme’s launch, with almost 1.2 million courses starting this academic year.

Tutoring continues to be fundamental to children and young people’s recovery, and parents are encouraged to check in with their school if they believe their child is eligible.

The Government’s ambitious, education recovery plan – worth nearly £5 billion – is key to driving forward efforts to level up education across the country, ensuring that where a child lives has no bearing on the opportunities available to them.

Schools Minister, Robin Walker, said:

The National Tutoring Programme has transformed the way schools provide support for the young people who need it the most. Children from all backgrounds and all corners of the country have now started over 1.5million tutoring courses, which is testament to the programme’s success.

The doubling of the Recovery Premium for secondaries will further bolster the support schools are able to offer for pupils who need it, helping each and every young person – wherever they live – get back on track and stay on track. I encourage schools to make full use of all on offer to support children in catching up.

The £1 billion Recovery Premium means secondary schools will receive £276 per eligible pupil, with primary schools receiving £145 per eligible pupil. Pupils in special units in these schools will attract double the funding rate.

Special schools and alternative provision will receive £290 per primary pupil and £552 per secondary pupil.

This extra support in secondary reflects evidence showing the greater gaps in older pupils’ learning and lower amount of time those pupils have left in education, while primary pupils have already recovered around two thirds of progress lost due to the pandemic in reading, and around half of progress lost in maths.

The National Tutoring Programme is being simplified ahead of next year, with all funding to be provided directly to schools – reflecting the success the school-led tutoring route this year.

That success is demonstrated again in today’s statistics. In this academic year, an estimated 913,000 courses started through the School-led route, 165,000 starts have been made on courses through Tuition Partners and an estimated 118,000 courses have started through the Academic mentor pillar of the programme.

The National Tutoring Programme, alongside recovery funding, 500,000 teacher training opportunities and plans for a stronger and fairer school system, support the government’s Levelling Up mission for education – for 90% of primary school children to achieve the expected standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths by 2030. In secondary school, the Government’s mission is for the national average GCSE grade in both English language and maths increase from 4.5 to 5, to the same timeline.

More information on Recovery Premium rates can be found here.

Every teacher in the country will have access to free, high-quality, ongoing training as part of the Government’s continued drive to ensure every pupil in England is taught by an excellent teacher, levelling up education across the country.

High-quality, Government-accredited training programmes – National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) – will continue to be free for teachers to take for the next two academic years (22/23 and 23/24), following Government investment of £184 million.

Today’s announcements form part of the government’s commitment to provide 500,000 teacher training opportunities during this Parliament, helping give every single student the opportunity to be taught by dedicated, highly trained teachers, and level up opportunity across the country.

To enable teachers and leaders in every corner of England to take up the free training offer, additional payments to small schools are being introduced, helping ensure that where a child lives has no bearing on the quality of teaching they receive. The Targeted Support Fund will give a grant payment of £200 per participant to schools with 1-600 pupils, for every teacher or leader they employ who participates in an NPQ.

This comes as the government has announced the School Led Development Trust (SLDT), a consortium of four leading multi academy trusts, will establish and run the new flagship National Institute of Teaching.

The National Institute of Teaching will deliver high-quality Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and National Leaders of Education development programmes and will generate and share cutting-edge research and insights into best practice, to improve the quality of teacher training nationwide.

This new package of support for teachers’ continuous professional development comes as schools across the country celebrate Thank a Teacher Day, which recognises the hard work and passion of everyone working in education.

Schools Minister Robin Walker said:

Teachers are the backbone of our school system, inspiring, educating, caring for and ultimately preparing our next generation to make the very best of their lives. Each and every teacher and staff member deserves our thanks and recognition – they certainly have mine.

I’m privileged to have seen and met so many committed and brilliant teachers across this country and I want to make sure that they are supported to be the very best they can be, so that every single pupil – wherever they live – is taught by an excellent teacher.

The broadening in scope of our fully-funded training means that every teacher who wants to will benefit, while our first of its kind National Institute of Teaching will be at the forefront of the delivery of teacher training, driving up support for teachers and the quality of teaching in schools, ultimately helping to level up education for all.

The availability of NPQs is also being extended, with two new NPQs set to be introduced in Early Years Leadership – to support school leaders in their work to ensure every child gets the best start in life – and Leading Literacy, to develop school leaders’ expertise in the teaching of reading and writing. This is a step towards delivering the Government’s commitment, as set out in the Schools White Paper, to improving literacy standards across the country.

The scope of education settings eligible to support the NPQ scholarships is also being broadened to include independent special schools, hospital schools and young offender institutions, among others.

The Harris Federation, Oasis Community Learning, Outwood Grange Academies Trust and Star Academies make up the four trusts to have formed SLDT to run the National Institute of Teaching. Further partnerships with a number of well-reputed school trusts will ensure that the National Institute of Teaching has the scale to reach teachers and leaders up and down the country.

The Institute will be led by a faculty of expert teacher educators, working from its headquarters in Blackburn, Lancashire, and its regional campuses across England. It will recruit and train teachers in the most disadvantaged areas and support levelling up by creating more than half of its new jobs in the North West and North East, and recruiting 20% of staff from the least socially mobile areas in the country. It aims to positively impact every teacher in England by 2028, either directly via its training courses or through the best practice guidance that it will distribute.

Melanie Renowden, founding CEO of the National Institute of Teaching, said:

The National Institute of Teaching is uniquely positioned to create a bridge between evidence and education practice. As a school-led consortium, we are perfectly equipped to translate evidence on best practice into action that can be implemented in schools up and down the country.

It is not just that we know schools and work well with schools. Our trusts and our partners are delivering education excellence in classrooms across England, often in communities that have the toughest of deals, where our work has the potential to make the biggest difference. We will investigate what has been working, codify what we learn and share it across the school system.

We are looking forward to the National Institute of Teaching playing a central role in nurturing the talents of teachers and leaders at all stages of their careers, so they can provide children and young people with the world-class education they deserve.

Separately, having listened to sector feedback, the Government is making improvements to the online training platform for Early Career Teachers, intended to reduce the workload for teachers, schools, delivery partners and the appropriate bodies overseeing teacher training.

Alongside this, research is being published on the experiences of Early Career Teachers, mentors and induction tutors, following the first term of the national rollout of the ECF-based induction programmes for early career teachers.

Initial findings, from a three-year evaluation process, show high levels of enthusiasm and engagement with the programmes and underline the broad support across the sector for giving early career teachers evidence-based development and support at the start of their careers. The main challenges centred on workload and a perceived lack of flexibility in the programmes. Feedback will be used to make improvements to the programmes, including making materials more user-friendly, simplifying the digital service and producing guidance on applying the content of the programmes to different contexts and roles.

ENDS

Minister Podzic, Major General Masovic, ladies and gentlemen. A quarter of a century ago conflict devastated this country. Now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought war and bloodshed back to our continent. Putin is not just waging the war on the Ukrainian people but the very foundations of our societies: freedom, sovereignty and the rule of law. This aggression must not succeed.

We must learn the lessons of history and the consequences of inaction. The West took too long to act in the 1990s. We were not bold enough to prevent terrible events such as the genocide at Srebrenica. This hesitancy only prolonged the fighting. Sarajevo suffered under siege for 1,425 days. We should have acted sooner. We said never again would we allow such suffering in Europe – Let’s show that we meant it. Russia’s aggression cannot be appeased. It must be met with strength.

And we cannot allow a prolonged and increasingly painful conflict to develop in Ukraine. That means backing Ukraine in their brave defence of their country. We must be relentless in delivering military aid and sanctions. Ukraine must prevail. We can’t take our foot off the accelerator now. We stood side-by-side with Bosnia and Herzegovina at the UN condemning the invasion. I urge Bosnia and Herzegovina to join us in imposing sanctions on Russia – cutting off funding for Putin’s war machine. We must guard against backsliding. Nobody should be pushing Ukraine to negotiate under duress. We must support Ukraine to drive Russia out of Ukraine.

And we must also counter Russia’s malign influence here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia is already seeking to undermine reforms that are taking place in this country, and undermine your Euro-Atlantic ambitions. They are fuelling secessionists, threatening Bosnia and Herzegovina’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. This cannot be tolerated. We will do everything we can to drive out this malign influence and protect peace, prosperity and stability in the region. That is why the UK is increasing our support in three ways.

Firstly, we are working to protect the hard-won Dayton Peace Agreement. That’s why we have sanctioned two politicians for their unacceptable nationalist rhetoric and denial of the genocide. We will support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and we will back High Rep. Christian Schmidt.

Secondly, we are investing to boost your economic security. We are extending our offer of honest and reliable infrastructure investment, through British International Investment, to the Western Balkans. We aim to mobilise $100m of UK-backed investment by 2025, and we are also putting in £2bn worth of UK export financing for this country. This will help ensure the resilience and capabilities to counter the threat of malign influences. Russian interference. It will also help your country boost your energy independence – a strategic asset.

Thirdly, we are boosting your ability to counter security threats and malign influences. Our commitment to this country is enduring. In the 1990s British soldiers were here in the darkest days of the conflict. We were here to maintain the fragile peace that followed, and to help build the country’s single, unified Armed Forces that we see here today. 59 British soldiers gave their lives in that effort. We will never forget their sacrifice. Our defence relationship continues to grow today. We are training your talented young cadets in world-class British military academies, like Sandhurst. Some of them are here this afternoon.

History tells us we must meet aggression with action and with strength. Our support for Bosnia and Herzegovina – like our support Ukraine – is about our belief in a simple principle: the right of people to decide their democratic future and to protect themselves. This country’s future lies on this path, and in greater partnership with NATO and countries like the UK. I am calling on all of our friends across Europe to match our ambition. Let’s work together to strengthen freedom, sovereignty and the rule of law, to the benefit of us all.

ENDS

On 24 February,  Member States met virtually to discuss a new instrument on pandemic preparedness and response. Stemming from a WHA decision entitled ‘The World, Together’, it was a day where we all recognised that we must work together to tackle health threats.

Yet that very day President Putin regime launched his illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, causing horrific health impacts.

Since then, as others have said here, there have been over 250 attacks on health care, thousands of civilian deaths and injuries, and huge disruption to Ukraine’s health services.  Countless hospitals lie in ruins.

The psychological toll on Ukraine’s people is unimaginable. Dr. Tedros spoke moving movingly on Sunday of his experience as a child of war. Russia’s aggression is turning millions of Ukrainian children into children of war.

As we look across the world, there are far too many conflicts and crises causing suffering. Each constitutes a tragedy. Each deserves our greatest attention.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having a global impact that is exacerbating all these crises.

People across the world are facing food, energy, and commodity price rises. Yet Russia sees this and continues its relentless assault, weaponizing the global food supply and harming the world’s most vulnerable, causing lasting damage to health.

I understand the concerns of Member States who fear the politicisation of the Assembly. But war is a health issue. Health for peace. Peace for Health. The WHA must not be afraid to address health crises, including the causes and, in this case, the aggressor.

Let me urge Member States to support the draft resolution before us and stand up for the people of Ukraine, for their health, and for international law.

To those tempted to support Russia’s resolution, let me urge you to think again. Strip away the diplomatic language. See what is left. A call for the protection of civilians, while Russian forces are killing and maiming those same civilians as we sit here.

A vote for the Russian resolution is a vote to condone that suffering.

We urges our fellow Member States to stand up for Health and Peace. Peace for Health.