Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of in-work poverty on educational attainment in children.

The department considers the attainment of disadvantaged pupils relative to non-disadvantaged pupils using the disadvantage gap index.

The disadvantage gap index is a measure of the difference in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils. It considers disadvantaged pupils as any pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) in the last six years, looked-after children, and previously looked-after children.

In England, key stage 2 and key stage 4 (KS4) data is analysed to show the disadvantage gap. Latest key stage 2 data shows that the primary school attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has grown between 2019 and 2022, having narrowed over the previous 8 years. Latest KS4 data shows that the disadvantage gap index has widened since 2021 to 3.84, the highest level since 2011/12. The disruption to the nation’s children and young people caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected disadvantaged students more than their peers.

The department is committed to helping these pupils to recover and close the attainment gap. That is why our recovery programmes, such as the recovery premium, the National Tutoring Programme, and 16-19 tuition fund, are especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged.

In addition to this, the pupil premium has increased to more than £2.6 billion this year, with per pupil funding rates increasing by 2.7%. This is the highest ever in cash terms.