Pupils: Frome and East Somerset
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the gap in attainment between disadvantaged students and their peers across schools in Frome and East Somerset.
Answered by Department for Education
The ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ white paper establishes our plan to improve outcomes for all children across all constituencies. We recognise that poverty can have a significant impact on children's attainment and life chances, and tackling child poverty is central to the government's work to break down barriers to opportunity. When children born under this government finish secondary school, it is our ambition that the key stage 4 disadvantage gap will be halved.
The department’s approach is comprehensive and includes rebuilding early family support and improving teacher recruitment and retention, so that every child benefits from high-quality teaching. Further measures include broadening the curriculum and enabling access to high-quality enrichment, as well as launching two place-based missions to drive improvement in areas where outcomes remain stubbornly low.
We will introduce government funded pupil premium strategy reviews for schools that need additional support. These targeted reviews will equip school leaders to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.
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