Nursery World - Disadvantaged children 'disproportionally' affected by learning loss during the pandemic

Children are making progress to recover the learning they lost during the pandemic, however disadvantaged pupils remain further behind, according to a new NAO report.

The NAO report highlights the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers, PHOTO: Adobe Stock

‘Education recovery in schools in England’ shows learning loss for disadvantaged pupils has been consistently greater than for pupils overall, resulting in the attainment gap growing since 2019.

It reveals the disadvantage gap index (a measure of the difference in attainment between disadvantaged and other pupils) at the end of primary school was 3.23 months in 2022, while it 2019, it was 2.91.

In comparison, it finds that in summer 20201, pupils were on average 2.2 months behind the expected level of attainment in primary maths, 0.9 in primary reading, as opposed to 3.6 and 1.8 months in autumn 2020.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included