The government’s “single biggest priority” is to overcome the loss of learning children have suffered during the coronavirus pandemic; Boris Johnson announced on Monday.

Ministers are reviewing the school calendar which could see Summer holidays being changed or extending school days to help pupils catch up on lost time due to the pandemic.

Boris Johnson is set to reveal plans on how the UK will come out of the lockdown, with schools pencilled in to open from 8^th March.

Multiple proposals to are being considered by the Department for Education to help children recover, including after-school classes run by volunteers and charities so teachers don’t have to stay late.

Education Committee chairman Robert Halfon told the Sun: ‘We should extend the school day but not necessarily ask teachers to do it. ‘It could be funded by the catch-up programme and use civil society groups to provide sports or other support. ‘It would hugely improve the mental health of children — they’ve been locked up so long.’ The Tory MP also backs drafting in educational professionals to help pupils make up for lost time.

Ministers are also looking at extending the summer term for another two weeks, with the holiday time redistributed to existing breaks in the autumn and winter.

Study during the warmer months could be easier as windows and doors can be kept open in school buildings to improve ventilation and reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading.

DfE officials are understood to be assessing the cost-effectiveness and evidence of adding additional classes on to the start and end of each school day, the newspaper reports.

Halfon, said: “They are definitely considering all these ideas. I think they are receptive and thinking about it seriously.”

This is welcomed news especially as concern about the impact of lost learning on pupils continues to grow. The Institute of Fiscal Studies recently published a report stating that by the time the pandemic is over, most children across the UK will have missed over half a year of “normal, in-person schooling”, a figure equating to more than five per cent of their entire time in school. As a result of lost learning this could lead to the average schoolchild losing £40,000 in lost income over their lifetime.

However, teaching unions have rejected plans to extend the school day to help children catch up. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders' union, said: “Research evidence shows that there are better methods to help pupils than lengthening the school day.”

“The Government must filter out loud calls for superficially attractive schemes and listen to the experts instead.”

The NAHT said providing pupils with greater feedback by investing in more teachers and enabling greater opportunities for one-to-one and small group learning would be more effective in helping children to catch up. It said pupils’ progress could also be accelerated by improving teachers’ knowledge and skills.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "It's nice to think about doing things differently, and this is the moment to rethink them.

"But anyone trying to force that through this summer will find people are just craving getting back to normal.

"Parents will want to meet grandparents and people will want a holiday. I think this is a medium-term solution."

The Department for Education did not comment on the proposals but a Government spokesperson said “We will invest a further £300 million in tutoring programmes, building on the existing £1 billion Covid Catch-Up Fund, but the Prime Minister has been clear that extended schools closures have had a huge impact on pupils’ education, which will take more than a year to make up.”

“The Government will work with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure pupils have the chance to make up their lost education over the course of this parliament – and we have just appointed Sir Kevan Collins to the role of Education Recovery Commissioner, to specifically oversee this issue.”

Children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield told BBC Breakfast: “What we all realise now is the impact on children of not being in school, both educationally and in terms of their wellbeing, is absolutely immense, and one that we hadn’t really anticipated in the first instance – but now, a year on, is very clear to see.

“The pressure now on getting that catch-up in place, getting children to the point where they can start to get their confidence back and rebuild, really needs to start in huge earnest.

“Which is why I’m really pushing for not only a kind of one-year catch-up, but something that will go over the next two to three years to try to get children, as many as possible, not only back to where they should have been, but also ahead.”

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