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CLEMMIE MOODIE

Covid’s legacy is illiterate children who can’t afford a £100-an-hour tutor to catch up

COVID, they said, was the planet’s great leveller: Rich or poor, old or young, the virus discriminated against no one.

Except, two years on, coronavirus is still wreaking havoc on Britain’s poorest.

Portrait of frustrated schoolboy sitting at a desk with books holding his head having learnind problems
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Years on from COVID, there's a ghost generation of children being left to rot - some of whom can't read or writeCredit: Getty
(FILES) This file handout illustration image obtained February 3, 2020, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. - American health authorities said February 25, 2020 they ultimately expect the novel coronavirus to spread in the United States and are urging local governments, businesses, and schools to develop plans like canceling mass gatherings or switching to teleworking. The comments mark a significant escalation in the level of threat being conveyed to the US public and come amid fears of a pandemic, as the disease has taken root in several countries outside China, including Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. (Photo by Lizabeth MENZIES / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION/ALISSA ECKERT/HANDOUT " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by LIZABETH MENZIES/Centers for Disease Control and /AFP via Getty Images)
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The virus continues to wreak havoc on Britain's poorest and worsen the gap between rich and poorCredit: AFP

While the middle classes moan about clambering off their Pelotons to field a pesky work Zoom call, as nanny plays with little Ophelia, there’s a ghost ­generation of children being left to rot.

Kids who cannot read or write, who have been brought up in a climate of fear, tension and increasing poverty.

Yesterday it emerged that more private tutors than ever are being hired to help youngsters with their school work.

A report by the Sutton Trust found that 30 per cent of schoolchildren had paid-for coaching — the highest levels since the social mobility charity’s polling began.

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The tutoring industry is now worth around £2billion, with rates of more than £100 an hour commonly charged.

Kids as young as three — THREE!!! — are being privately taught, at huge expense, to prepare for their four-plus entrance assessments.

(Aged three, I’m pretty sure I was still waddling around in nappies, pointing at sheep while barking “Moooo”, and demanding more juice from my sippy cup. But still).

Apparently “super-ambitious and relentlessly discerning” affluent families are fuelling the boom.

Because they can.

Because furlough saw them purchase exercise bikes and spend a lovely, ­rejuvenating couple of years WFH.

And because, for a lucky demographic, the “pandemic” meant playing with the kids and taking picnics with the ­lockdown puppy.

For struggling single parents, families in cramped city tower blocks, hard-up blue-collar workers fighting daily to provide food for their children, Covid meant sleepless nights and overt misery.

Gap between rich and poor

Long division, William Wordsworth and the dissection of a toad weren’t at the forefront of minds. Survival was.

As a result, we have a young generation more used to smartscreen interaction than a human one.

While rich kids get smarter, for £100 an hour, the poor are left trailing in their educational wake.

Now experts are acknowledging that unless the National Tutoring Programme — set up three years ago to coach kids worst hit by Covid — remains well-funded, the gap between rich and poor will widen immeasurably.

Schools have been hit by strike after strike, forcing parents on zero hours contracts to give up valuable pay cheques in order to look after their young.

Last week the Schools Teachers’ Review Body finally recommended a pay award of 6.5 per cent which has been accepted, in full, by the Education Secretary.

This comes in addition to the record pay rise over the past 12 months of 5.4 per cent, meaning that over two years, teacher pay is increasing by more than 11 per cent on average.

The Government, meanwhile, says it will give schools an additional £525million in 2023-24 and £900million in 2024-25, from the Department for Education’s ­bu­dget, to fund the pay rise.

The savings won’t come from Rishi’s magical money tree, apparently, rather from “reprioritisation” within government departments.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan claimed ministers were “painstakingly going through every single budget line and looking at where we think we don’t need to use all of the money that was anticipated”.

What they really need to be doing is prioritising those who really need it.

Those who have been hit the hardest since March 2020, and who will have no chance at life if the playing field isn’t remotely flattened. Now.

JUST A BRITT NAIVE

AS reading the room badly goes, it doesn’t get much worse than this.

In the week original supermodel Jane Birkin – inspiration behind the designer handbag – died, Brittny (no “e”) Button, wife of former F1 driver Jenson, came out with this uber-sensitive, cost-of-living-aware gem.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 09: Brittny Button attends the OddMuse LA Launch Party at Catch LA on June 09, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for OddMuse)
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It doesn't get more tone deaf than Brittny Button's complaint to British Airways about 'mega damage' to her designer handbagCredit: Getty

“Your inoperable business class seat scratched my Birkin and caused mega damage,” she told British Airways on Instagram.

My heart bleeds.


What a genius headline following Carlos Alcaraz's victory over Novak Djokovic
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What a genius headline following Carlos Alcaraz's victory over Novak DjokovicCredit: The Sun

WELL done to The Sun’s sports sub-editors for this headline following Carlos Alcaraz’s victory over Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

“New kid beats GOAT”, read the back pages.

Genius.


TODAY is World Emoji Day.

Our industrial-revolution-pioneering, Great War-fighting ancestors would be proud.


lSO Brad Pitt, who played reverse-ageing Benjamin Button in the (brilliant) eponymous movie, is actually Benjamin Button, it turns out.

The Hollywood star is 60 this year.

US actor Brad Pitt is pictured at the Centre Court' Royal Box as he watches the men's singles final tennis match between Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia's Novak Djokovic on the last day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 16, 2023. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Brad Pitt may actually be Benjamin Button himself - can you believe he turns 60 this year?Credit: AFP
FILE PHOTO: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves his home, in London, Britain March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
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The hot Hollywood star is the same age as former PM Boris JohnsonCredit: Reuters

At Wimbledon last week, he looked hotter than ever and, as one wag pointed out on Twitter, is the same age as our very own Boris Johnson.

Poor Boris.

Little Prince George is still just a kid . . . don’t make him follow suit

BREAKING centuries of tradition, Prince George won’t be expected to serve in the Armed Forces before becoming king.

It is, apparently, another example of King Charles trying to modernise the royals.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 16: Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince George of Wales celebrate during Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon 2023 men's final on Centre Court during day fourteen of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 16, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
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The Royal Family may want to let George ditch the suit and tie if they really want to modernise thingsCredit: Getty

Which is all well and good. But why, then, is the lad still trussed up like Little Lord Fauntleroy on every public occasion?

In the front row of Wimbledon’s royal box on Sunday, nine-year-old George donned his usual suit and tie which, in the height of summer, could not be comfy.

If the Royal Family really wants to be ­progressive, let the kid wear a dino tee and lolly-stained shorts.

PRIDE OF LION LADIES

ON Thursday, the Women’s World Cup kicks off Down Under.

Obviously there’s been nowhere near as much hype as would be the case were this the men’s tournament we were talking about.

SUNSHINE COAST, AUSTRALIA - JULY 17: Sarina Wiegman, Manager of England, reacts during a training session at Sunshine Coast Stadium on July 17, 2023 in Sunshine Coast, Australia. (Photo by Naomi Baker - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
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Let's hope Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses can finally bring it home when the Women's World Cup kicks offCredit: Getty

But as is ever the way with the Lionesses, this is a bunch of players who let their football do the talking.

Let’s hope Sarina Wiegman’s talented squad can – unlike their male counterparts – finally bring it home.

On-the-job cops’ sex ban at last

POLICE in Britain’s biggest force have been banned from using sex workers.

Erm, how has this not been standard procedure since day dot?

The Met, an organisation which had hardly covered itself in glory of late, said the use of prostitutes “undermined public trust”.

No s***, Sherlock.

GAFFE? YOU BET

RIGHTLY, lots of plaudits for troubled footballer Dele Alli’s touching podcast interview with Gary Neville.

The ex-England star bravely revealed, among other things, his addiction to sleeping pills – a growing problem in the game.

Dele Alli speaking to Gary Neville on the Overlap., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyDL9EUIdy0
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What a gaffe to see endless Sky Bet plugs on the podcast interview when troubled Dele Alli bravely spoke about gambling problems in footballCredit: YouTube

As, of course, is gambling.

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Good, then, to see endless coverage and plugs for the cosy YouTube chat “brought to you by Sky Bet”.

Talk about an own goal.

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