EPI Report: Tories failed disadvantaged children for sixth year in a row

A new report from the Education Policy Institute released today has shown that no progress has been made on narrowing the disadvantage gap for GCSE students since 2015.

• The disadvantage gap was found to be 1.24 grades in this report, with the figure almost unchanged from the 1.25 grade difference in 2017. This marks a stalling of progress in reducing educational inequalities.
• The report further adds that the disadvantage gap for 16-19 study has worsened in the same period.
• Disadvantaged students attending sixth form and college were on average the equivalent of 3.1 A-Level grades behind their more affluent peers across their best three qualifications in 2020.

Researchers at the Education Policy Institute have warned that the lack of progress in narrowing disadvantage gaps across different ages is likely to severely constrain the Government's "Levelling Up" ambitions.

Commenting on the report, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, Munira Wilson MP, said:

"The Conservatives are continuing to fail young people. For all their talk about levelling up, there is nothing to show for it when it comes to our children. This is an absolute moral failure on the part of the Conservatives.

"The Government has a duty to help and support disadvantaged children in our society, but has refused to do so time and again.

"The pandemic has had a devastating impact on our children, increased lost learning and worsened what was already a huge issue. Without extra government action on catch-up funding, there will be millions of children who desperately need help to get on in life left without support."

COVID-19 and Disadvantage Gaps in England 2020, Education Policy Institute, 10 Feb 2022

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