MPs call for action on pandemic-widened gap between England’s poor and rich pupils

The disadvantage gap index at the end of primary school – used to measure the difference in attainment – has risen from 2.90 in 2018 to 3.23 in 2022. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

It could take a decade for the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers to return to pre-pandemic levels in England without faster and more effective intervention, MPs have warned.

The estimate was made during evidence given to parliament’s influential public accounts committee (PAC) as part of its inquiry into education recovery after the disruption of Covid.