Let’s celebrate the extraordinary efforts made by young people, teachers and leaders this year

This week is results week and young people up and down the country will be waiting anxiously, as they always have, for the results of their hard work and academic effort. In that way, this week is no different from previous years. But there are differences this year – the awarding process has not been done on the basis of external exams, but rather on assessments of pupils’ work made by teachers.

Leora Cruddas CBE, Chief Executive, CST

The important thing is that we, the adults, stand together and celebrate young people’s achievements. This is their moment.

And we should also celebrate the integrity and professionalism of the nation’s teachers and leaders. The past 18 months of the pandemic has meant that we have had to overcome some extraordinary challenges. So, to the teachers and leaders across the country, thank you for the leadership you have shown in uncertain and worrying times.

Let us cast our minds back to 18th March last year when the Prime Minister announced to the nation that schools in England were to shut from Friday 20th March 2020 until further notice as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister’s decision came as UK deaths reached 104. As I write, in the UK today, there have been over 6 million cases of coronavirus and over 130,000 deaths. It has been a tragic time in our global history. So many of us have suffered the unbearable loss of loved ones – family members, relatives, friends and colleagues.

But this has also been a story of heroism and service and great courage. Our public services have been magnificent. Our NHS has been on the front line of the pandemic, and it is right that the nation has applauded them. And so have our other public services – the police, carers, and of course those working in education.

This short reflection is testimony to the courage and professional will of all of all those who work in our schools, trusts and colleges:

In March last year, you moved to remote education within days of being told to limit attendance in schools, while contributing to the national effort by continuing to education those children who most needed our help and the children of key workers.
You fed the most vulnerable, cared about their welfare, watched for their safety.
You opened schools more widely in June, despite public concern, and built parental confidence and trust.
At extremely short notice, you put in place processes for teachers to assess students as part of a different approach to awarding grades because exams were cancelled in 2020.
In September, you achieved extraordinary levels of attendance, showing just how much parents trust schools, leaders and teachers.
You taught intensively throughout the Autumn term, assessed gaps in knowledge and planned interventions.
You spent your Christmas holidays working out how to implement mass covid testing in secondary schools and planning for the Spring term.
Then on 4th January 2021, after just one day at school, attendance was again restricted. You moved immediately to remote education while still making provision for those who most need our support and the children of key workers. This time, you knew more about remote education, so immediately parents started reporting that they quality and quantity of remote education exceeded their expectations.
And then, in March you opened schools again to all pupils. Yet again, we have seen extraordinary levels of attendance. You have set up Covid-19 testing on secondary school sites. You have implemented policies with skill and quiet diplomacy, working with your staff and communities to ensure that people feel safe.
Yet again this year, you made sure that young people get the fairest possible grades as public exams have once again been cancelled. You have made Herculean efforts to conduct this process of teacher-assessed grades with professionalism and integrity.

You have done all of this, overseen by magnificent governance. However hard this is (and it has been very difficult most of the time), you have never stopped, not once, to put yourselves first. At every moment, you have done your civic duty. Despite the rapid changes in policy, school leaders, teachers and boards have been determined to make sense of it.

You have done this because you believe in the power of education to improve lives – and indeed to change the world.

So, as we enter results week, let us stand back to celebrate the power of education and congratulate our young people on their extraordinary efforts. You have made so many sacrifices and yet faced the challenges with strength and determination. Whatever the next stage in your journey, we are incredibly proud of you.