£15bn funding boost ‘needed in education to help pupils catch up’

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said establishing a plan to help

pupils catch up is “the biggest priority”

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The Government must spend up to £15 billion on education to meet Boris Johnson’s pledge that children catch up on missed learning during the pandemic, new analysis reveals.

A report published today by the Education Policy Institute highlights the scale of funding needed for the Government’s long-term education recovery programme.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said establishing a plan to help pupils catch up is “the biggest priority”, and pledged that “no child is left behind as a result of the learning they have lost over the past year”.

So far the Government has provided £1.7 billion of short-term funding. Today’s analysis shows many pupils have already experienced more than three months of lost learning and without ambitious funding young people’s life chances will be damaged.

The report found:

• By the first half of the 2020 autumn term, pupils in England had lost up to two months in reading and up to three months in maths.

• Learning loss is likely to have increased since then after schools were closed until March 8.

• Pupils could see their future income drop by £8,000 to £50,000.

A Government spokeswoman said: “We are working with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure all pupils have the chance to recover from the impact of the pandemic as quickly and comprehensively as possible.”

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