Schools: Closures

(asked on 2nd November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment has he made on the impact of school closures on the long term financial prospects of school children.


Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 8th November 2021

The department continually reviews the evidence base on the potential economic impact of the time pupils have spent out of the classroom as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and are aware of a wide range of estimates which are based on little or no mitigation measures.

The department has commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to provide a baseline assessment of catch-up needs for pupils in schools in England and monitor progress over the course of the 2020/21 academic year. The latest findings from the research were published on gov.uk: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1029841/Understanding_progress_in_the_2020-21_academic_year_Report_4_October2021.pdf. The department is currently exploring options to assess progress over the course of the current academic year.

The department’s latest evidence suggests that pupils are showing some degree of recovery in education loss. In summer 2021, primary pupils were on average around 0.9 months behind in reading and 2.8 months behind in maths compared to where they would otherwise have been in a typical year. This is an improvement since spring 2021, where primary pupils were around 2 months behind in reading and 3.1 months behind in maths. For secondary pupils, they were on average around 1.8 months behind in summer 2021.

That is why the department is investing nearly £5 billion on measures to support further recovery such as the National Tutoring Programme, teacher development, and the recovery premium to support teachers to implement evidence-based interventions to address education gaps. This is in addition to a strong core funding settlement which will see core schools funding rise by £4.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year compared to existing plans.

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