Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Rejected
Disadvantage gap in pupil attainment widened significantly following the COVID-19 pandemic
Conclusion
Disadvantaged pupils have, on average, lower attainment than other pupils, and results from the Key Stage 1, 2 and 4 tests taken in 2022 showed that this disadvantage gap had grown.12 The Department told us that it had been successfully closing the disadvantage gap before the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the subsequent widening of the gap had been one of the worst and most dispiriting effects of the pandemic. It explained that it used a metric called the disadvantage gap index to measure the difference in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. A value of zero would indicate there was no disadvantage gap. The disadvantage gap index at Key Stage 2 (the end of primary school) was 3.34 in 2011, and the index fell steadily to 2.90 in 2018. In 2022, it had risen to 3.23, not quite as high as in 2011 but going significantly backwards.13 Written evidence we received from NASUWT, Action Tutoring and The Tutor Trust also highlighted that the growth in the attainment gap between disadvantaged and other pupils during the COVID-19 pandemic was a particular concern.14
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the implied recommendation, stating that narrowing the disadvantage gap is central to all existing departmental programmes rather than requiring a separate plan. It highlights ongoing £5 billion recovery programmes, the Schools White Paper, and a commitment to continue reviewing progress.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The Department for Education (the department) is committed to narrowing the disadvantage gap as quickly as possible, using proven programmes and the best evidence, for example through the department’s funded work of the Education Endowment Foundation. This objective is central and should be threaded through all of the department’s programmes and work, rather than being a further separate plan. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, progress was made on improved outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. That progress was achieved through evidence-based improvements to curriculum and pedagogy, targeted help for pupils through the National Funding Formula, the continued development of the Pupil Premium and tilting of major programmes across all phases of education. The Schools White Paper, Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child (published March 2022) set out steps to improve attainment for all pupils, including helping to provide children who fall behind with the support they need to get back on track. The pandemic impacted on the learning and development of all pupils, in particular disadvantaged pupils. That is why the £5 billion recovery programmes are principally targeted at disadvantaged pupils, supporting the narrowing of the disadvantage gap to pre-pandemic levels as quickly as possible. Key stage (KS) 2 national statistics, released on 11 July 2023, show that overall more pupils met the expected standard in this year’s mathematics and writing assessments than last year, and although reading has declined from last year it remains consistent with results in 2019 prior to the pandemic. Statistics on attainment in KS1, KS2 and phonics at regional and local authority level, and broken down by pupil and school characteristics (including disadvantaged pupils) will be published in Autumn 2023. The department continues to use evidence and wider insights to review progress towards our 2030 ambitions, across different cohorts and phases, to determine how best to support to support all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.