Commit to tuition to close attainment gap

This assertion could be questioned when it comes to many aspects of the government's response to Covid-19, but with regards to helping pupils catch up on lost learning due to the disruption to education, it appears to be living up to its words. Analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) shows many children, despite the best efforts of teachers and parents, experienced two months lost learning in reading and three months in maths last year (see interview). And while schools were better prepared for last winter's national lockdown, the EPI fears the disruption to education will have resulted in a further loss of learning, with disadvantaged children worst affected.

EPI modelling shows lost learning could translate to £50,000 less in lifetime earnings per pupil. This is a lot for anyone, but for those people who end up in lower paid jobs, it could equate to two or three years of lost income. It is why so much rests on the government getting right its education recovery plan.

A key element of the additional support put in place has been the £350m National Tutoring Programme (NTP), which has funded tutors for 210,000 of the most disadvantaged pupils in 5,000 schools this year (see feature). This is money well spent – one-to-one and small group tuition has proven to be effective in helping pupils progress academically, with research showing it can lead to an attainment boost of up to five months. However, the key to this, the EPI emphasises, is in getting the implementation right. Many schools – such as those we feature – say the scheme has been crucial in boosting children's confidence and knowledge. However, earlier this year, it emerged that some providers were employing teenagers from overseas to deliver tuition sessions. Such practices risk undermining the scheme's credibility and will fail to deliver the outcomes ministers' desire and children need.

It is becoming increasingly evident that the recovery from the pandemic will be long, with further bumps in the road likely. It is why the EPI has called on the government to commit to funding the NTP for the next three years, as part of a £13bn education support package to reverse the damage caused by the pandemic. The government should also make it a central part of its “levelling up” and “building back better” drives, which must have reducing the attainment gap at their heart. Failure to do so could see the gap widen and the future life chances and incomes of a generation of disadvantaged young people blighted.

• Derren Hayes is editor of Children & Young People Now