Isle of Wight Council's cabinet member in charge of education has paid tribute to the 'outstanding contribution' of headteachers and staff on the Island, praising their inventiveness and resilience in meeting the needs of their students in exceptional circumstances.”

His comments come as the government reveals extra funding is to be made available, and some of that will be used to help secondary schools in England run summer schools, to support pupils who have missed out on learning.

Extra online learning resources are also included in the measures.

In the published plans, the government promises: "A new one-off Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools, building on the Pupil Premium, provided to schools to use as they see best to support disadvantaged students."

The average primary school will receive around £6,000 extra, and the average secondary school around £22,000 extra, said the government's statement today (Wednesday).

  • Can Isle of Wight schools open safely?
  • Scroll down for Cll Paul Brading's full statement...

An extra £400 million in funding – on top of a package worth £300 million, announced in January – forms part of the Prime Minister's education recovery plan.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Small group and one-to-one tutoring, as well as summer classes for pupils who most need it (such as incoming Year 7 pupils), could be on the board.

Extended school days and shorter summer holidays have also been considered by the government, but these are not in the proposals published today.

Some education leaders have called it “a promising start”, but they are warning that recovery will take longer.

  • What does the IW NEU think of school reopening? Scroll down...

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson did not rule out a longer school day, to help pupils catch up.

He said: “We’ll be looking at how we can boost and support children in a whole range of different manners.

“But it’s not just about time in school, it’s about supporting teachers in terms of the quality of teaching and how we can help them.”

Isle of Wight County Press:

Cllr Paul Brading, cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills

Throwing his weight behind the full opening of schools on March 8, Councillor Paul Brading, cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills, said: “It is right that children and young people are prioritised as lockdown eases.

"Pupils need to be back in the classroom so that they have access to high quality, face-to-face learning and also be afforded opportunities to mix socially with their peers.

“The Department for Education has issued detailed guidance to schools about re-opening and school leaders will be refreshing their risk assessments in the light of this guidance."

The Isle of Wight County Press asked what support was available to schools with shielding staff, worried there might not be enough teachers to safely open in less than a fortnight. 

Cllr Brading said: “The Isle of Wight Council will work with all headteachers to ensure the re-opening of schools is successful and that mitigation strategies to avoid the spread of the virus are scrupulously followed."

The full reopening of schools, which have been open for vulnerable children and those of keyworker families, was announced in the government's four-stage roadmap out of Covid-19 lockdown.

On Tuesday, the Isle of Wight NEU's Peter Shreeve accused the government of failing to learn lessons over its reopening plan.