Commenting on the publication of the Public Accounts Committee's inquiry report into the educational attainment of disadvantaged children, Jude Hillary, NFER’s Co-Head of UK Policy and Practice, said:
NFER statement in response to Public Accounts Committee’s report into educational attainment of disadvantaged children
Friday 7 March 2025
“Reducing the attainment gap has been a priority for several recent governments. However, the way the attainment gap index is constructed - and other effects like the transitional arrangements introduced to smooth the roll-out of Universal Credit, has contributed to a significant increase in Free School Meal (FSM) pupils. This makes it extremely difficult to identify trends in disadvantaged attainment.
“This is a critical issue. The profile of pupil disadvantage is changing. Our previous research has shown it will become harder to determine what is driving changes in the disadvantaged attainment gap - the difference in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. It is unclear whether these changes stem from shifts in the composition of the disadvantaged group, economic conditions or genuine attainment progress.
“To ensure that long-standing gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers are being adequately addressed, policymakers must act urgently to establish a more meaningful set of measures for following the extent and effects of disadvantage in schools.”
Jude Hillary recently published a blog, which looked at the challenges of measuring the disadvantage gap.