Sutton Trust comment on the Education Secretary's statement

“It’s good that the Education Secretary has given some clarity to schools, pupils and their families on assessments in 2021. The decision to cancel exams is the right one given the scale of disruption.

“However, teacher assessments are problematic in terms of their consistency across schools and potential bias. By this summer, pupils will have faced over a year of disrupted learning, which will have had a disproportionate impact on poorer students. It is crucial that any assessment model takes this into account so that all pupils leave education with the qualifications they deserve.”

“The commitment to providing at least 3 hours of education a day when schools are closed is welcome. But for this to be realistic for all pupils, the government must take urgent and ambitious steps to address the digital divide, including laptops and free data for disadvantaged pupils.”