Education Policy Institute: Closing the Gap? Trends in Educational Attainment and Disadvantage

In this report, the Education Policy Institute has examined the progress made in closing the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. The analysis considers how that gap varies across the country. The findings of this report formed the key national evidence for OCF’s school readiness project – Growing Minds. 

The most disadvantaged pupils in England have fallen further behind their peers, and are now on average over 2 full years of learning behind non-disadvantaged pupils by the end of secondary.  Disadvantaged pupils were on average 19.3 months behind their peers by the time they took their GCSEs – meaning they are falling behind by around 2 months each year over the course of secondary school.