To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a recent report by The Sutton Trust, 'Fairness First: Social Mobility, Covid and Education Recovery' published in May; and what plans they have to increase the funds for the early years pupil premium.
Answered on
8 June 2021
The government are carefully monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on children’s wellbeing, learning and development, including in the early years. We note the report published by the Sutton Trust.
On 2 June 2021, we announced a £1.4 billion education recovery package, which includes a £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, including through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development for the youngest children. This brings the total investment announced for education recovery for early years, schools, and colleges to over £3 billion since June 2020. The government has committed to an ambitious, long-term education recovery plan. We will continue to consider the effect that the COVID-19 outbreak has had on education and wellbeing, and what further action is needed to address this.