26 Accepted

Evidence from the National Foundation for Educational Research, based on estimates by teachers in July...

Recommendation
Evidence from the National Foundation for Educational Research, based on estimates by teachers in July 2020, indicated that on average the learning gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers had increased by 46%. Teachers in the most deprived schools were also over three times more likely to report that their pupils were four months or more behind in their curriculum-related learning, compared with teachers in the least deprived schools.47 Interim findings from the Department’s own research found that pupils in secondary schools with high levels of free school meal eligibility experienced 2.2 months of reading learning loss, compared with 1.5 months in schools with low levels of eligibility.48
Government Response Summary
The government agrees, committing to developing metrics to monitor and reduce year-on-year lost learning, and detailing several commissioned studies and evaluations to track learning loss and the impact of catch-up interventions, with results to be collated to assess overall programme performance.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2021 5.2 The government’s education recovery strategy aims to reduce year on year lost learning due to COVID-19. The department is currently developing metrics to monitor this and will write to the Committee in Autumn 2021. 5.3 Monitoring overall education recovery, including for specific groups of learners will track and provide evaluation of specific interventions. 5.4 The department has commissioned Renaissance Learning, and their subcontractor, the Education Policy Institute, to provide a baseline assessment of the learning loss and catch-up needs for pupils in schools in England and to monitor progress over the course of the academic year 2020-21; and are seeking commercial agreements for further academic years. 5.5 The department has a contract with Ipsos MORI, in consortium with Sheffield Hallam University and the Centre for Education and Youth to undertake a mixed-methods study design (including surveys, interviews, and case studies) to examine how schools are tackling the issue of lost learning. 5.6 Results from the study will be used to understand how the catch-up premium funds have been spent and how best to support schools to tackle learning loss. 5.7 The department has commissioned evaluations of specific interventions, such as the National Tutoring Programme, to understand the effectiveness of individual interventions and will use management information to track progress against delivery. The department will collate this evidence to assess the performance of the overall programme.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 5.2 yrs
Report published 26 May 2021