Sutton Trust responds to new report on education recovery by the Education Select Committee.

Commenting on the Education Select Committee report into education recovery, James Turner, Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust, said:

“The pandemic has caused devastating disruption to the lives of children and young people, impacting academic attainment, mental health and wellbeing.

“The Education Select Committee is absolutely right to look into this issue in detail and to ensure recovery efforts are delivering for the pupils who need it most. We strongly support calls for the department to establish the full impacts of the pandemic, giving particular consideration to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, so that we can effectively target recovery efforts.

“The central reason for setting up the NTP was to address inequalities in access to private tuition, and harness the well-evidenced power of small group and one-to-one tutoring for those from low income homes and in under-served parts of the country. Transparency in where the NTP is reaching is vital. Subsidy levels for schools should also be maintained at 75 per cent for at least the next two years, to recognise the ongoing impact of Covid on learning.

“We must continue to do all we can to make sure the poorest pupils have access to the support they need to catch up and thrive.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

  • The Sutton Trust was founded by Sir Peter Lampl in 1997 to improve social mobility in Britain. The Trust has influenced government policy on more than 30 occasions; its programmes have to date given 50,000 young people the opportunity to change their lives; and it has published over 250 pieces of agenda-setting research.