New research suggests the learning gap suffered by young pupils as a result of the pandemic is starting to narrow.
The difference between reading and maths scores of Year 3 and 4 pupils in the 2022/23 academic year compared to those before Covid is smaller than it was. But the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers remains wide.
The findings are the latest in a series of reports conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) tracking the longer-term impact of the pandemic on younger pupils’ reading and maths skills.
Published and funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the research has followed over 6,000 pupils who were in Reception and Year 1 (four- to six-year-olds) in March 2020, with the most recent assessment taking place in the spring term of 2023 with the same pupils, now in Years 3 and 4.
