Schools better prepared for remote teaching during current lockdown, but many pupils still face barriers to learning— report

There has been a big increase in the intensity of online teaching during the second major school lockdown, with almost a quarter of primary pupils now doing more than five hours a day, compared with only 10% at the end of March last year, according to a new report.

In secondary schools, the proportion of those accessing online teaching has increased from 19% to 45%. However, big socio-economic gaps remain with just a quarter of those in working class households able to access learning for more than five hours a day, compared with 40% of children in middle-class homes,

There have also been changes in how remote teaching is happening, the report Learning in Lockdown, from The Sutton Trust, found. More than half — 54% of teachers are now using live online lessons, compared to just four per cent in March. However, the gap between the independent and state sectors has widened, with 86% of teachers in private schools now using live lessons, compared with 50% in state schools.

While 87% of high-income families report having sufficient devices for online learning, just 59% of the poorest households say the same. This discrepancy is reflected in the quality of work that teachers are receiving back from pupils. More than half — 55% — of teachers at the least affluent state schools report a lower standard of work than expected, compared to 41% in the most affluent schools, and just under a third at private schools.

The report was comprised from polling of almost 6,500 teacher by Teacher Tapp. It highlights big socio-economic differences in how much money parents have spent on their child’s home learning since September. A significant minority of the highest earners — 19% — have spent more than £200, while many of the lowest earners, 31%, had not been able to spend anything at all.

According to the research, teachers in the poorest schools are twice as likely as those in the most affluent to believe there will be a substantial increase in the learning gap between rich and poor pupils — 49% compared to 25%.

The Sutton Trust is calling on the government to make sure that schools are resourced to help those who have lost out on learning the most when schools reopen. As part of a package of measures, the Trust is proposing a £750m one-off pupil premium boost to give schools an additional £400 per eligible pupil to spend as they see fit, including on subsidised tutoring through the National Tutoring Programme.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “The first period of school closures have had a huge impact on all young people, but particularly those from lower-income backgrounds. The repercussions of these months of lost learning are devastating and will be felt for years to come. It’s imperative that we don’t let this happen again.

“Today’s research shows that schools are now better equipped to deliver online teaching. But significant barriers remain that threaten to widen the gap between rich and poor pupils still further.

“The immediate priority has to be to address the gap in digital provision between rich and poor. The government has made good progress, but they need to do more. There also has to be substantial additional funding for schools when they reopen, focussed on students from low-income backgrounds who have fallen even further behind.”