Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his has taken to tackle the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils in the City of York.

Since 2011, the Department has provided extra funding through the pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils. The Department has provided £2.4 billion in funding this year alone so that schools have the resources to focus on improving the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. This year, schools in York are receiving £5 million in additional funding through the pupil premium.

School leaders can use the grant in any way they choose to meet their pupils’ needs. Through the establishment of the £137 million Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the Department commissioned extensive research into how schools can best improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

The EEF’s definitive Pupil Premium Guide, published last summer, brings together 8 years of evidence. The guide recommends that, when spending the pupil premium, schools prioritise the quality of teaching (for example, by investing in professional development). The guide also advises that targeted academic programmes and wider readiness-to-learn support should be prioritised as these approaches are proven to make a difference to pupil outcomes when delivered effectively. The guide is available at the following link: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/pupil-premium-guide/.

The EEF has recently established a network of Research Schools across England, such as Huntingdon Research School, to help school leaders to access and implement effective practice.