Poorer pupils struggling most in second round of closures

The impact of the second period of school closures on the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils is likely to be significant, according to new research from the Sutton Trust.

The report includes polling of up to 6,475 teachers by Teacher Tapp and finds a big increase in the intensity of online teaching from the beginning of the first lockdown, with almost a quarter (23%) of primary pupils now doing more than five hours of learning a day, up from one in 10 (11%) at the end of March. For secondary students, it has increased from 19% to 45%.

That said, the Sutton Trust points out that big socio-economic gaps remain: 40% of children in middle class homes are learning for over 5 hours a day, compared to just 26% of those in working class households.

There have also been changes in how remote teaching is taking place. Over half (54%) of teachers are now using online live lessons, compared to just 4% in March 2020. However, the gap between the independent and state sectors has widened, with 86% of teachers in private schools now using online live lessons, compared to 50% in state schools.

The survey finds that schools are now much better prepared to deliver online teaching and learning, but many pupils still face barriers to accessing it. While 87% of high income households report having sufficient devices for online learning, just 59% of the poorest households say the same. Polling published by the Trust last week found that just 5% of teachers in state schools said that all their pupils had access to a device, compared to 54% in private schools.

These barriers to learning are reflected in the quality of work that teachers are receiving back from their pupils. Over half (55%) of teachers at the least affluent state schools report a lower standard of work than expected, compared to 41% at the most affluent state schools and just under a third (30%) at private schools.

Today’s report also highlights the challenges parents face in supporting their children at home. Polling of 877 parents by YouGov finds that two in five (41%) say that they have not very much time or no time at all to help their children with online learning. Poorer parents are particularly struggling, with 28% of those on low incomes saying they are finding the second period of school closures more difficult, compared to just 15% of those on the highest incomes.

The research also highlights big socio-economic differences in how much money parents have spent on their child’s home learning since September. A significant minority of the highest earners (19%) have spent more than £200, while many of the lowest earners (31%) had not been able to spend anything at all.

The Trust is concerned that the cumulative impact of the new school closures on the attainment gap between poorer students and their classmates – on top of 9 months of disrupted schooling – is likely to be of an unprecedented scale.

According to the research, teachers in the poorest schools are twice as likely as those in the most affluent to believe there will be a substantial increase in the learning gap between rich and poor pupils (49% vs 25%).

The Sutton Trust is calling on the government to make sure that schools are resourced to help those who have lost out on learning the most when schools reopen. As part of a package of measures, the Trust is proposing a £750m one-off pupil premium boost that would give schools an additional £400 per eligible pupil to spend as they see fit, including on subsidised tutoring through the National Tutoring Programme.