He warns that free school meals leave students behind their peers

The gap between better-off students in school compared to those from lower-income families is widening, according to a new report.

Despite some improvements in the post-Covid years, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) says the gap in disadvantage in England has widened again and is still wider than it was before the outbreak “at every level of education”.

The disparity was “particularly stark” in primary education, the report said.

Department of Education announced It has been working to close the poverty gap by providing opportunities for every child, including expanding government-sponsored childcare and extending eligibility for free school meals.

The government has set itself the goal of halving the disability gap by the time the current generation finishes high school.

The EPI looked at the educational outcomes of children who were eligible for free school meals compared to those who did not, to measure who was considered disadvantaged.

It also disaggregated the data by gender, ethnicity and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The overall gap in academic achievement between low-income students and their more affluent peers is 17 per cent wider than it was for children in the early years before Covid-19, he said.

Although some levels of education have started to close gaps since the pandemic, the report found that they are widening again in early years and Key Stage 4 as students sit their GCSEs.

Disadvantaged pupils are on average 19 months behind their classmates by the time they reach Key Stage 4, the report found.

For pupils with SEND, the EPI found that gaps in access narrowed for older age groups but remained the highest on record for children with education, health and care plans – legal documents which set out what extra support some children with SEND can get.

Disadvantaged pupils in London outperformed similarly educated pupils in other regions, the report said, with the gap between better-off and worse-off pupils widening in the south-east and south-west of England.