The disadvantage gap has grown to its widest point since 2012 in primary and secondary schools, according to “devastating” findings published today.
By the end of key stage 2, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers stood at 10.3 months in 2023, analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has found.
This is a month wider than in 2019 and higher than it was in 2012.
By the end of key stage 4, disadvantaged students were 19.2 months behind their peers in 2023.
Again, this has widened since before the pandemic and has hit its highest level since 2012.
Persistently disadvantaged pupils were even further behind - by almost two years (22.9 months) by the end of secondary school and almost a year (11.6 months) by the end of primary school.
Russell Hobby, CEO of Teach First, said the findings “make for devastating reading”.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that the widening of the attainment gap was a “national tragedy”.
A renewed attainment gap strategy
The EPI said the new Labour government should set out a strategy for addressing these attainment gaps.
The strategy should assess the effectiveness of existing policies aimed at reducing disadvantage and “clarify the government’s level of ambition regarding educational inequalities”, researchers said.
EPI chief executive Natalie Perera 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.”
The EPI previously found, in 2022, that the disadvantage gap had widened across all educational phases since before the pandemic.
Tes reported last year that KS4 performance data for 2023 showed the disadvantage gap was at its widest since 2011.
Some year-on-year improvements
The disadvantage gap has widened post-pandemic in almost all regions in the early years to KS4 phases.
However, there have been some year-on-year improvements. The gap for disadvantaged 16- to 19-year-olds was 3.2 grades across their best three subjects in 2023 - slightly down from 3.5 in 2022 and similar to 2019 levels.
The 4.6-month disadvantage gap for pupils at age five in 2023 was wider than in 2019 (4.2 months), but slightly lower than in 2022 (4.8 months).
Disadvantaged pupils in London have higher attainment than those elsewhere in the country, similar to 2022.
Gap widens for early years pupils with SEND
In Reception, pupils with education, health and care plans were 19.9 months behind their peers - a small increase since 2019. Pupils receiving special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support were 12.5 months behind - up 0.7 months since 2019.
These gaps for the early years are the widest since EPI began tracking them in 2013.
However, there has been some progress in narrowing attainment gaps for SEND pupils in later phases. EPI said the new government must put in place more effective support for these children to improve this further.
Is mental health driving gender gap?
Gender gaps still exist, with girls outperforming boys across all education phases, but these appear to be closing in recent years, driven by declining attainment for girls as well as increasing attainment for boys.
EPI said there is a need for more research to understand why girls’ attainment is declining and whether it is related to the “recent large increases in poor mental health for teenage girls”.
Responding to the overall findings, Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said schools and colleges were striving to support all their students, but “are operating with insufficient funding and staffing”.
He echoed the EPI’s calls for a cross-government child poverty strategy.
Education minister Catherine McKinnell said the figures show that, “despite the work of our brilliant teachers, too many pupils are being held back by their background”.
Labour’s policies to provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and free breakfast clubs, and deliver a child poverty strategy, will help to tackle the divide, she added.
For the latest education news and analysis delivered directly to your inbox every weekday morning, sign up to the Tes Daily newsletter
