Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to ensure that disadvantaged children do not experience a comparative reduction in attainment during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Department has taken rapid, wide-ranging action to help schools and parents support all young people during the school closures. This includes publishing an initial list of online education resources and guidance for parents, supporting the launch of a new online academy, and supporting the BBC package of TV and online education materials.

The Department is doing everything it can to ensure that schools and other education providers are getting the guidance and support they need to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 while pupils are not attending school. We will do everything possible to make sure no child, whatever their background, falls behind as a result of COVID-19.

The Government has already committed over £100 million to boost remote education, including by providing devices and internet access to vulnerable children who need it most. Devices have been ordered for the most disadvantaged Year 10 pupils who are preparing for examinations, as well as for children receiving support from a social worker, and for care leavers.

Schools also continue to receive additional funding in the form of the pupil premium – worth around £2.4 billion annually – to help them support their disadvantaged pupils.

The Department recognises that disadvantaged pupils making the transition into new primary and secondary schools and into post-16 education risk missing out on crucial support. The Department is looking at how to draw on best practice being put into place by schools and how to support links between education providers. The Department is also looking at how other providers might support children and young people with engagement and development activity now and in the run up to schools reopening.

The Department is also considering, with a range of partner organisations, how best to support all pupils, especially the disadvantaged, who have been affected by school closures.