£10-15 billion needed for education recovery, says EPI

New analysis from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) shows that a multi-year funding package of £10-15 billion is required to make up the lost learning as a result of the pandemic.  

The research based on initial economic modelling of the impact of school closures reveals the scale of the funding response needed from the government to deliver on its education catch up commitments for pupils in England.

The government has provided short-term funding of £1.7bn to support pupils, but has recently begun formulating a more comprehensive education recovery settlement, following the appointment of its Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins. This long-term catch-up package is likely to be published in the coming weeks.

The latest analysis by EPI for the Department for Education shows many pupils had already experienced as much as three months of lost learning by the autumn term, with further losses likely following another period of remote learning in early 2021.

The modelling set out in the EPI's paper shows that, without ambitious funding and interventions which tackle the scale of lost education, there are likely to be severe long-run consequences for young people’s education, earnings and life chances, which would in turn bring damage to the wider economy.  

EPI has published its preliminary analysis in order to inform the government’s recovery plans over the coming weeks. A final EPI report, which sets out a precise long-term funding package and proposes a series of policy recommendations on catch–up interventions, will be published in May.  

Alongside findings on the scale of the funding required in England, this preliminary analysis also outlines the level of catch-up funding required in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The analysis shows that £1bn-£1.5bn catch up funding will be required to support pupils in Scotland, £600m-£900m in Wales and £350m-£500m in Northern Ireland.