'We will catch up': Learning gap leaves Blackpool pupils two years behind those in richer areas

Poorer school pupils in Blackpool are more than two years behind their better off classmates by the time they finish their GCSEs - according to a new report.

Analysis of government data suggests that the learning gap between rich and poor students of primary school age in England has widened for the first time since 2007.

The statistics come from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), and appears to show that a shift took place before even the coronavirus pandemic began.

Their annual report shows disadvantaged GCSE students in Blackpool were 26.3 months of learning behind their better-off peers nationally in 2019.

This has grown by five months since 2012, with the education gap in Blackpool the largest in England.

More than a third (37 percent) of the resort’s secondary school pupils were classed as disadvantaged, meaning they were eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

The figures also show that 16 per cent are defined as persistently disadvantaged – eligible for free school meals for 80 per cent or more of their school life.

The education gap also exists for disadvantaged young children in Blackpool, with five-year-olds trailing by 6.1 months and primary school pupils 5.9 months behind.

Jo Hutchinson, report author and director of social mobility and vulnerable learners at the EPI, said vulnerable children who have suffered abuse or neglect are at risk of falling further behind because of lockdown.

He added: “Our research shows that over the last two years an increasing number of children are living in long term poverty, and since these children are furthest behind in their learning, that is contributing to adverse trends in the national disadvantage gap.

“There is now abundant evidence that poverty and social vulnerability require urgent action both in and outside of school.”

Coun Kath Benson (inset), who is Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for schools, education and aspiration, said the “historical data” used in the report only tells a small part of the resort’s story.

She said: “Blackpool schools are better than ever, with most children attending a good or better school.

“Our figures in relation to fixed term exclusions, permanent exclusions, numbers of pupils in the Pupil Referral Unit and results at the end of Key Stage 2 are improved and improving further.

“Outcomes at GCSE are improving slowly but will catch-up with the improved outcomes in the Primary phase.

“Our 2020-30 education strategy will produce a sustainable, high-quality provision for all pupils, improving life-chances even further.

“The historical data used in this report only tells a small part of Blackpool’s story. Many more indicators that have not been included in the analysis change the narrative and we believe that we should be looking at the current Blackpool picture, our improvement journey and what is to come for Blackpool.

“Now is the time to be positive and to believe in the ability of our teachers and leaders to change the commentary over the next decade.”

The report from the EPI is titled Education in England: Annual Report 2020, and was published by Jo Hutchinson, Mary Reader and Avinash Akhal.

Research found that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has stopped closing for the first time since 2007. The EPI states that “policymakers have not succeeded in responding to earlier reports warning of a major loss of momentum in closing the gap.”

According to the report, disadvantaged pupils across England are roughly 18.1 months of learning behind their non-disadvantaged peers by the time they finish their GCSE exams.

“Researchers have identified the increasing proportion of disadvantaged children in persistent poverty as a contributory cause of the lack of progress with narrowing the disadvantage gap,” the EPI says.

While the widening of the gap appeared to have begun before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the EPI says that it is widely expected that lockdown school closures will widen the gap further.

The latest data in the report is from 2019, with the EPI saying that, since then, the Covid-19 epidemic has had an huge impact on the English education

system. “Everything we have so far learned about education during the schools’ lockdown suggests that the response to the health crisis will have had a particularly adverse impact on poor and vulnerable children,” says the EPI.

The report added: “The gaps we report here may therefore already be much wider this year.”

Without targeted government action to close the gap, there is a risk of “undoing decades of progress in tackling educational inequalities”, the EPI warns.

The Department of Education has not directly responded to the findings of the report from the EPI, but it did say that it was determined to tackle the disruption caused to the educational system by the pandemic.

In a statement, the Department of Education said: “Our £1bn Covid catch-up package will tackle the impact of lost teaching time, including a £650m catch-up premium to help schools support all pupils and the £350m National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged students.

“This includes up to £9m available for the Nuffield Early Language intervention programme to support those who have missed out on

early education at an essential time for their development.”

Blackpool is one of 12 ‘Opportunity Areas’ in the country and was selected, in part, because the resort faces some of the greatest challenges and fewest opportunities based on the Social Mobility Commission’s 2016 index.

The Department for Education is investing £90m over four years to help “level up” skills and outcomes for children and young people. The idea is to bring together school leaders, the council, businesses and others to support children and young people in one of the most disadvantaged parts of England

Graham Cowley, chairman of the Blackpool Opportunity Area Partnership Board, said: “Since its launch, the Opportunity Area programme has been helping create a level playing field for all young people by increasing opportunity and outcomes, and this is even more important now as we support those hardest hit by the pandemic.

“We recently announced a further £1.97m for Blackpool Opportunity Area to build on the success of the first three years with improved Ofsted ratings in schools and over 5,000 young people registered for Start Blackpool, our careers advice platform, so they can connect with employers.

“Team Around the School has also helped over 200 secondary pupils at risk of being excluded from school since 2019, and, during the pandemic, inclusion workers delivered free school meals and vouchers to the most vulnerable as well as helping them keep up with school work.

“But we know tackling the gap and improving social mobility is a long-term goal and we will continue working with our local partners to raise attainment and progress in our schools.”

Another organisation which is fighting the gap is Blackpool Better Start, a 10-year lottery funded programme which aims to improve the life chances of babies and very young children.

Clare Law, the organisation’s deputy director, said: “The first 1,000 days of a child’s life is when the development of the brain is the most important. “If we can get it right from there then there is more of a chance of the gap closing which is better for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The learning gap is not the cause of one person or organisation. It is a cultural shifting that I believe everyone is responsible for.”