Norfolk teacher warns generation of struggling students could be left behind, without concerted effort
EPI says by the time children from low-income families sit their GCSEs, they're more than 19 months behind their more well-off classmates
A teacher in Norfolk is telling us that a generation of struggling students could be left behind- unless there's a concerted effort to help them catch up.
It's after research from The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has claimed that disadvantaged pupils in England have fallen even further behind their peers since the Pandemic.
"There's a joint worry about what the future might hold"
Scott Lyons also works for the National Education Union, in Norfolk:
"Locally, this is a massive concern. From speaking to teachers and school leaders- there's a joint worry about what the future might hold.
"With the SEND funding pots disappearing here, schools are going to find it even harder to fill the gaps and start the recovery process".
"One thing that's been done in other countries, and that we'd like to see, is a pause of exam-based outcomes and for the joy of reading and learning to be brought back."
What else does this work show?
The Education Policy Institute says by the time children from low-income families sit their GCSEs, they're more than 19 months behind their more well-off classmates.
It also says the disadvantage gaps for 11 and 16-year-olds are at their "widest levels" in over a decade - and remain "much higher" than pre-pandemic levels for children aged five.
"must adopt evidence-based policies and interventions with urgency"
Natalie Perera, chief executive of the EPI, said: "If the new Government is to make real progress in tackling these inequalities, it must adopt evidence-based policies and interventions with urgency.
"These should include higher levels of funding targeted towards disadvantaged pupils and a cross-government child poverty strategy to tackle the root causes of educational inequalities."
"We will deliver real change"
Education minister Catherine McKinnell said:
"These figures show that, despite the work of our brilliant teachers, too many pupils are being held back by their background.
"It is this government's mission to break down these barriers to opportunity so we can improve the life chances of all children.
"We will deliver real change by providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every secondary school, introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary, as well as developing an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty so that families feel supported, and children are able to learn."