Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her policies aiming to reduce child poverty.

The department has evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes. The evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. That is why the department has a range of support in place to support pupils, families, and schools.

The Schools White Paper set out a long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. This is founded on achieving world-class literacy and numeracy. We are also investing in 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs), including Portsmouth, where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest. In these areas, we will implement a package of measures to drive school improvement and improve pupil outcomes. Portsmouth is also one of the 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs) where the department will make more intensive investment on top of the significant support available to all EIAs. PEIAs are a subset of EIAs that have particularly low attainment and high rates of disadvantage.

More widely, the government is committed to closing the disadvantage gap. This government’s work for the ten years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed that progress can be made to narrow the gap, and that the department’s policies and programmes are making an impact. We will continue to monitor progress and to deliver programmes designed to help disadvantaged pupils, for example through the Pupil Premium, introduced in 2011, and worth over £2.9 billion in 2023/24.

Thanks to the measures brought in by this government, we have driven up school standards across the country. 88% of schools are now rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. The rate of improvement has been even greater in Portsmouth, where there has been an increase in schools reaching this high bar of 36% over the course of this government.

In 2018, the department launched the £60 million English Hubs Programme. The 34 English Hubs are primary schools which are rated outstanding at teaching early reading. Since its launch, the English Hubs Programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousands of schools across England. Schools supported as partner schools outperformed non-partner schools by around 7 percentage points, when comparing the change in year 1 phonics screening check results between pre-COVID-19 pandemic and 2022.

Portsmouth’s local English Hub, Springhill English Hub, is working hard to engage and support primary schools across Portsmouth to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for Portsmouth schools. The Hub has supported four schools in the city, with another six expected to become partner schools in September 2023.

Schools within Portsmouth are also supported by Solent Maths Hub. Maths Hubs aim to raise the standard of mathematics education from reception through to A level, and harness mathematics leadership and expertise within an area to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all students. Maths Hubs use their networks to deliver a range of Continued Professional Development in mathematics to schools in their geographical patch.

In April 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced plans to extend the £100 million Teaching for Mastery programme to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. This was accompanied by plans to provide more intensive Maths Hubs support to schools that need it most, including in Priority Education Investment Areas, to continue driving up the quality of mathematics teaching in schools.

Outcomes, as measured by international comparison studies, show improvements in key subjects like reading and maths. Most recently, England came fourth out of the 43 countries that tested children of the same age, in the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS), with an average score of 558.

Providing support for vulnerable children and young people is a priority for this government. We recognise the strain that families are under and will continue to work collaboratively with local areas to ensure children, young people, and families have access to the support they need, for instance to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of cost of living pressures. Many of the department’s recovery programmes, including the Recovery Premium, are especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged. Funding for the National Tutoring Programme is also allocated on the basis of disadvantage. The department’s guidance to schools highlights the help to those students in particular.

The government spends over £1 billion annually delivering free school meals (FSM) to pupils in schools, as the provision of nutritious food ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits, and can concentrate and learn. In addition, the department has extended the National School Breakfast programme for another year until July 2024. Overall, we are investing up to £30 million in the programme, covering the period from July 2021 to July 2024. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.

This Government has extended FSM eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. The department provides free meals for 2 million disadvantaged pupils through the benefits-related criteria. Combined with almost 1.3 million infant pupils who also receive an FSM through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, this accounts for over one third of all pupils in school, compared to one sixth of pupils in 2010.

This year, the department is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays. The programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their physical and mental health and wellbeing.