Students: Disadvantaged

(asked on 6th July 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that white working class students' attainment is equal to that of their peers.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 20th July 2021

Raising education standards for all pupils, irrespective of their background or where they live, remains an important focus of the Government. The Department has worked hard over the last decade to embed the reforms needed to raise standards for all children. Thanks to these efforts, and the work of head teachers, teachers and school support staff, the proportion of schools judged by Ofsted to be good or outstanding has risen from 68% to 86% since 2010. Since 2011, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and others has also narrowed by 13% in primary schools and 9% in secondary schools.

When it comes to raising standards, evidence shows that teachers are the most important in-school factor affecting pupils’ education. The Department has announced an investment of over £250 million in our National Professional Qualifications and Early Career Framework programmes, which are based on the best available evidence and have been developed in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation. Through this, the Department is committed to helping tackle the educational attainment gap for all pupils.

The Government recognises that extended school and college restrictions have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s education and is committed to helping pupils catch up. The Department has announced over £3 billion to support education recovery, and the pupil premium is providing over £2.5 billion in the 2021/22 financial year to improve the educational attainment and wider outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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