Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that child poverty does not have a detrimental effect on educational attainment.

Educational achievement, irrespective of background, is at the heart of our commitment to make this a country where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and hard work will take them. The department recognises that children from poor backgrounds may face additional challenges to realising their potential. It has spent over £11 billion since 2011, almost £2.5 billion this year alone, through the pupil premium to provide schools with resources to overcome the barriers to learning so often experienced by disadvantaged pupils. Over 9,700 pupils in East Ham are eligible for support and this year their schools are receiving more than £11 million through the pupil premium.

We look to schools to use this extra funding effectively. We know from research that a personalised approach, drawing on well-evidenced strategies, generally produces good results. Studies by the National Foundation for Educational Research and the regularly-updated toolkit maintained by the Education Endowment Foundation provide support to school leaders in their decision-making. Schools all over England are overcoming the poor economic circumstances of their disadvantaged pupils; examples of effective practice are highlighted each year through our national Pupil Premium Awards.