Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the closure of schools in spring 2020 on children’s attainment.

Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on attainment and progress is a key research priority for the Government, and we have commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to consider catch up needs and monitor progress over the course of the 2020/21 academic year.

The ongoing research is based on a large sample of pupils from Years 1 to 11, and will allow the Department to understand how best to support the sector and which particular groups of pupils have been most affected by time out of school. This research is based on assessments that schools are already choosing to use this academic year, so it adds no additional burden on schools and does not require pupils to sit any additional assessments.

To address the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department has launched a £650 million universal catch-up premium, and a £350 million National Tutoring Programme (NTP) for disadvantaged pupils: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/catch-up-premium-coronavirus-covid-19. The NTP went live on 2 November 2020 and schools are now able to access tuition to support disadvantaged pupils that need the most help to catch up.