"The term ‘unprecedented year’ has been bandied around throughout 2020, so much so that it has lost meaning – but it really is true. The challenges schools have faced and tackled head on throughout the year, and particularly this term have been significant.

"This country owes a huge amount of gratitude to teachers, leaders, governors, support staff and others for all that they have done, as schools have done everything they can to keep children safe and learning. They have gone above and beyond, proving once again their role as a pillar of society and community.

Part of The Bath and Mendip Partnership Trust, The Mendip School is an all-through special school catering for pupils aged 4-19 with a primary diagnosis of autism (ASD) and speech language and communication needs. The school works with a range of external professionals to identify the needs of each child, and adapts support accordingly. In 2018, Ofsted reported that the school’s ‘rich curriculum provides a relevant, interesting learning diet that weaves in therapy and real-life experiences’.

This week, London Academy of Excellence (LAE) Tottenham was named the Sunday Times’ Sixth Form College of the Year. In 2020 alone, over two-thirds of pupils graduated to Russell Group universities. A remarkable accomplishment from everyone involved in the school.

"The announcement on plans for exams in 2021 is hugely welcome news. Since March, teachers have done their level-best under exceptionally testing conditions and this clarity will bring some relief.

"As we saw in August, exams are the only reasonable way to ensure equity and fairness. It is right that centre-assessed grades will not be used next year.

"While there is no perfect way to level the playing field, these plans will go some way in protecting opportunity for children that have missed significant learning time this year."

King’s Leadership Academy Warrington is a secondary free school established by the Great Schools Trust. The school seeks to instil leadership characteristics in pupils, through its innovative leadership curriculum. In 2019, Ofsted rated the school as Outstanding, reporting that the school’s pupils ‘achieved beyond academic measures’.  

It is very disappointing that the Chancellor has overlooked a new free school wave in the Spending Review.

At the election less than a year ago, the Government made a promise to ‘level up’ opportunity across the country and address the inequalities in access to, and quality of, critical infrastructure in many communities – particularly across the north and midlands. Many of these areas have some of the highest deprivation levels and lowest educational outcomes, with the average Progress 8 score across northern regions -0.21 compared with +0.22 in London.

Throughout the pandemic, teachers have gone above and beyond to keep schools open and pupils learning. But this year has also exposed further the challenges in our education system that are letting parents and their children down.

This Spending Review is an opportunity to deliver on the manifesto pledges made at the last election – to generate real and lasting change for communities across England, by improving standards of education so that this generation is not blighted by the impact of the pandemic for their whole lives.

"It is fantastic news that another specialist maths free school will be opening, the first to do so in Yorkshire. The University of Leeds will join the likes of Kings College London, the University of Exeter and more recently the University of Liverpool to provide their world-class expertise to sixth-form students.