Inequalities across England are often persistent and deep-rooted, but not inevitable, new EPI research finds
by Educate Magazine December 19, 2024 · Uncategorized
A new report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), funded by Collective Futures, Ethos Foundation and The Henry Smith Charity, highlights significant variation in the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers across England.
The report identifies local authorities with consistently small or large disadvantage gaps, and evaluates progress in closing the disadvantage gap as pupils progress through primary and secondary school.
The institute found that:
· London has the smallest disadvantage gaps across all phases from early years to post-16. Disadvantaged children in London outperform those elsewhere, with boroughs like Newham, Redbridge, and Hackney consistently achieving the smallest gaps across phases. Five London boroughs have the smallest gaps at age five in recent years, while ten London boroughs, plus Wokingham, consistently have small gaps in 16-19 education
· While the disadvantage gap widens as pupils get older, there are some areas in London which are managing to close the gap by age 11. Camden, Kensington and Chelsea, and Tower Hamlets all managed to reduce the gap between age five and the end of primary school for their 2023 cohorts, while Redbridge is the only local authority where the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers had reduced by the end of secondary school
· By evaluating gap trajectories as pupils progress through education, areas outside of London also emerge as attaining well across their disadvantaged cohorts in 2023, such as Birmingham, Luton and Slough
· ‘Catch-up’ for disadvantaged pupils appears increasingly difficult as they move through the education system. Some local authorities like Wolverhampton, Bolton, Wigan and Trafford have above-average gaps at age five but achieve below-average gaps by age 11, demonstrating the potential for disadvantaged pupils to catch up. However, far fewer areas successfully support disadvantaged pupils to catch-up during secondary school compared to the primary phase, emphasising the importance of early intervention before disadvantaged pupils fall behind their peers.
The EPI has made a number of recommendations. It suggests the government should prioritise early intervention to prevent large gaps from emerging during the early years and primary education.
However, the institute states there are still areas where the gap in the early years and primary phases is relatively narrow but then widens amongst older pupils, highlighting that early intervention isn’t enough. Therefore, EPI recommends the government must combine it with continued interventions throughout secondary school and beyond to prevent further widening of the disadvantage gap.
The institute added that further research is needed to understand the specific drivers of disadvantage gaps at different points in the education lifecycle and why some areas manage to catch-up, to help support more local areas to break the link between a child’s background and their future success.
