A Government spokesperson said:
“Now more than ever, our focus is on levelling up the
opportunities available to every young person in this country and
we will do everything possible to make sure no-one is left behind
as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable remain
central to all our work and we continue to invest heavily to
close the attainment gap through initiatives like the £1 billion
Covid catch up fund and pupil premium funding, and through
investment in childcare and early years education.
“On top of this we are investing £90 million in 12 Opportunity
Areas to improve skills and outcomes for thousands of young
people in some of the most disadvantaged parts of England, with a
focus this year on rolling out initiatives that have worked in
other areas to help other places tackle similar challenges.”
Further information
- We have provided over £100 million to boost remote education,
including devices to the children who need it most
- Pupil Premium funding – worth around £2.4 billion annually –
continues to benefit the most disadvantaged pupils
- Our National Careers Service is supporting young people that
have been furloughed, made redundant or had their exams
cancelled, and our early years funding to councils, worth a
planned £3.6 billion in 2020-21, is providing stability for this
important sector.
- Over one million children a year are benefitting from our
investment in childcare and early years education.
- Early years settings have received significant financial
support over the past months and will benefit from a planned £3.6
billion funding package in 2020-21 for free early education and
childcare places. We are providing extra stability and
reassurance to nurseries and childminders that are open by
‘block-buying’ childcare places for the rest of this year at the
level we would have funded before coronavirus – regardless of how
many children are attending.
- We are also investing in early years organisations to help
them boost disadvantaged children’s development, with grants
targeted at improving outcomes for young children at risk of
falling behind by age five, and for those with special
educational needs.
- The Department for Education is investing £90 million over
four years in 12 Opportunity Areas across England to help level
up skills and outcomes for children and young people in some of
country’s most disadvantaged areas: £72m in its first three years
and £18 million for an additional fourth year until August 2021.
This includes Blackpool, Derby, Norwich, Oldham, Scarborough,
West Somerset, Bradford, Doncaster, Fenland and East
Cambridgeshire, Hastings, Ipswich and Stoke-on-Trent.
- As we enter year 4, we’ve set aside £1 million so our
dedicated teams can help other places tackle similar challenges
to reduce the attainment gap, recruit and train the best
teachers, raise school standards and improve outcomes for
thousands more young people.
- Low-income families also have access to Universal Credit
which can cover up to 85% of childcare costs.
- This Government understands the challenges many are facing
which is why we injected £6.5bn into the welfare system,
including increasing Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by
up to £1,040 a year, as well as rolling out income protection
schemes, mortgage holidays and additional support for renters.
- Our £1 billion Covid catch up package will tackle the impact
of lost teaching time as a result of the pandemic, including a
£650 million catch up premium to help schools support all pupils
and the £350 million National Tutoring Programme for
disadvantaged students. The programme is designed to improve the
reach of high-quality providers, including by delivering tutoring
remotely, to ensure disadvantaged children in all parts of the
country can benefit.
