Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the education system for supporting the academic attainment of boys.

All young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. That is why, through our work to deliver the Opportunity Mission, the department will improve opportunities and life chances across the country for all children and young people.

As in previous years the latest attainment data shows girls continue to do better than boys across all headline measures, however, the gap has narrowed when comparing the 2023/24 academic year to the 2018/19 academic year. The department publishes attainment data by sex on an annual basis in the autumn term, which can be broken down by specific local authorities, including Essex. Further data can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2023-24.

High and rising standards across schools are the heart of our mission and the key to unlocking stronger outcomes for every child and young person, regardless of their gender. The department aims to deliver these improvements through excellent teaching and leadership, a high quality curriculum and a system which removes the barriers to learning that hold too many children back.

The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for all children, which is why the department is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers. We have also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers that hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve.

To strengthen school improvement, the new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system, for all schools.

The department also engages regularly with teachers and headteachers and their representative bodies on a range of issues, including attainment, behaviour and attendance. This includes engagement through the department’s teacher and headteacher reference groups.

Alongside this, the department regularly engages with school leaders and teachers to develop its attendance policy. During the spring term the department delivered a programme of nine regional attendance conferences across England, giving secondary school leaders and teachers the chance to hear how other schools are tackling attendance challenges and spread best practice across the system. The conference in the East of England was held on 17 March.