NORTHUMBERLAND County Council is appealing for new and former teachers to help support young people as part of 28 pop-up summer schools in the county.

The teaching plan will be delivered in Hexham and Prudhoe, among other towns and villages across the county, and is part of a partnership with the Newcastle United Foundation to ‘ensure children get Premier League learning support’.

Coun. Wayne Daley, cabinet member for education services, said: “In the same way the NHS asked former staff to return to help in the fight against coronavirus, we will be calling on former teachers and newly-qualified teachers to come forward to help our young people recover from the learning loss.”

Longer-term plans to help education in Northumberland recover from the effects of the pandemic include an Education Challenge for the North of Tyne area, supporting schools to develop a recovery curriculum, and continuing to invest in new schools.

New school building and redevelopment projects in Hexham, Haydon Bridge and Ponteland are ongoing.

The council’s director of education, Dean Jackson, revealed last week that there had been a 30 per cent increase in the number of children in Northumberland schools and settings compared to the week before, with just under 8,000 pupils attending 165 open establishments.