Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 16 May 2025 Parliament page
The attainment gap sees disadvantaged children, on average, perform less well than their peers, affecting their future life chances. Government has a strategic objective to narrow the gap. The Department for Education (DfE) defines 2.1 million, or 27%, of children in state-funded schools as disadvantaged, based on registered eligibility for … Read more
8 Recommendations
21 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
16 May
2025
Report published
7 Mar
2025
Report published
4 Feb
2025
Correspondence
13 Jan
2025
Oral evidence
13 Jan
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
13 Jan 2025
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Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children
Juliet Chua CB · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education Tony Foot · Department for Education
Title HC No. Published Items Response
13th Report - Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged c… HC 365 7 Mar 2025 29 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
7 Conclusion Rejected
13th Report - Improving educationa…
England demonstrates strong relative performance in disadvantaged children's educational attainment internationally.
The Department told us that, compared to other countries, England performs relatively well in terms of disadvantaged children’s attainment.13 The OECD recently cited the UK as one of 10 highly equitable countries, meaning that the difference in maths, science and … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the Committee's conclusion, stating that the Department for Education strongly agrees too many children are held back by their background, and reiterates its commitment to the Opportunity Mission.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion Rejected
13th Report - Improving educationa…
Disadvantage gap index marginally narrowing, but not fast enough and lacks granular detail
The Department compares the attainment of disadvantaged pupils against their peers nationally through the disadvantage gap index, its main measure of progress.17 The Department explained that its most recent data shows this gap narrowed marginally in the last two years … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the Committee's conclusion, stating that the Department for Education strongly agrees too many children are held back by their background, and reiterates its commitment to the Opportunity Mission.
HM Treasury
View details
9 Conclusion Rejected
13th Report - Improving educationa…
Imperfect free school meals measure limits data and analysis on wider pupil outcomes
Registration for free school meals is not automatic and some low– income pupils will be missed due to eligibility criteria. This means it is imperfect as a measure of disadvantage. The Department stressed the importance of using wider measures beyond … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the Committee's conclusion, stating that the Department for Education strongly agrees too many children are held back by their background, and reiterates its commitment to the Opportunity Mission.
HM Treasury
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 29 of 8 classified
Accepted 20
Acknowledged 2
Deferred 4
Rejected 3
Total 8 recs + 21 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
4 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education relating to the oral evidence session held on 13 January 2025 for the inquiry into Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children, 27 January 2025
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