Topics/Pupil Outcomes

White working-class pupils ‘lagging behind’ despite London effect

White working-class young people face some of the biggest barriers to educational success in England, with pupils in parts of the capital failing to benefit from the its wider “London effect”, according to analysis.

As a teacher, I saw first-hand how education can lift children out of incredibly difficult circumstances.

Latest Teach First research reveals the stark reality facing England's most disadvantaged pupils — and calls for urgent action.

Pupils experiencing persistent disadvantage consistently demonstrate some of the lowest educational outcomes in the system – falling, on average, nearly two years of learning behind their peers by the time they sit their GCSEs.

We use Key Stage 2 data for 2025 from the National Pupil Database (NPD). We include all 653,000 pupils at state-funded mainstream and special schools.

Schools across the country continue to grapple with stubbornly high absence rates in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This paper offers practical lessons for government on how to better serve boys from low-income families, both in policy making and delivery.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of the gap between the GCSE results of disadvantaged pupils and their peers already exists at age 11, according to new Education Policy Institute (EPI) and Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) research, underscoring the critical role of early years and...

Many of the biggest challenges facing the education system – including absence, disengagement and SEND – are complex, interrelated and are shaped by socioeconomic circumstance.

Smacking leads to worse exam results, research finds

Smacking children can lead to future behavioural problems and worse exam results, according to new research.

A long-running question in education research is just how much difference individual teachers make to pupil outcomes.

Gareth Southgate: We need to teach boys differently to girls to get best out of them

The way boys are taught in schools should be changed to take account of their "fundamental differences" to girls, Sir Gareth Southgate has said.

School absence: Study urges focus on wider wellbeing factors

Lower life-satisfaction is associated with decreased school attendance suggesting a need to place wider wellbeing measures at the heart of efforts to address persistent absence.

Life satisfaction levels closely linked to school absence rates, study shows

Pupils that miss school, including those that are persistently absent, are more likely to experience low levels of satisfaction with their life, research shows.

New NFER research shows that lower life satisfaction among pupils in England is associated with higher school absences, with stronger links seen among girls and persistently absent pupils*.

Boost girls’ wellbeing to cut absence, ministers told

Improving life satisfaction is ‘likely to yield the greatest benefits’ for school attendance, NFER researchers find.

Report finds ‘significant link’ between school absence and life satisfaction

A new report has revealed a “significant” link between school absence and pupils’ sense of life satisfaction, particularly among girls.

White working-class pupils ‘lagging behind’ despite London effect

Persistently disadvantaged pupils are too often invisible – the government must act

Rewriting the future for persistently disadvantaged pupils

Persistent disadvantage – further analysis for Teach First

Key Stage 2 attainment, lifetime absence and context

School Belonging and Attendance: How much difference can it make?

Insights from early years settings

44% of the GCSE disadvantage gap is locked in by age 11, first-of-its-kind research shows

Growing apart: the evolution of the disadvantage gap

Smacking leads to worse exam results, research finds

Primary school teachers matter for learning, but may have little impact on attendance

Gareth Southgate: We need to teach boys differently to girls to get best out of them

School absence: Study urges focus on wider wellbeing factors

Life satisfaction levels closely linked to school absence rates, study shows

Low life satisfaction more strongly associated with school absence for girls than boys

Boost girls’ wellbeing to cut absence, ministers told

Report finds ‘significant link’ between school absence and life satisfaction