‘Poorer families less keen on sending their children back to school’

Poorer families are less likely to want to send their children back to school amid the Covid-19 pandemic, despite these pupils having fewer opportunities for home learning, a survey suggests.

Children from better-off households are spending an additional 75 minutes a day on educational activities than their peers from the poorest house-holds during the lockdown, research has found.

Pupils from the wealthiest families will have done seven full school days’ worth of extra home learning by June 1, when more pupils could return to school, according to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report.

If children do not go back to school until September, the gap between the most affluent and the poorest pupils will double to three school weeks, the study warns.

Fewer than half of parents said they would be willing to send their children back to school if they had the choice, but the higher-income families are more keen for a return to school than lower-income families.

The report from the IFS warns: “This risks a situation where the children struggling the most to cope with home learning remain at home while their better-off classmates are back in the classroom.”

The findings come after ministers and teaching unions were told to “stop squabbling” and agree on a plan for a phased re-opening of primary schools from June 1.

Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England, said many children were struggling away from the classroom, and the lack of education would have an impact on their future life chances.

The new analysis from the IFS has found that children from more disadvantaged families are spending less time on activities that may be particularly beneficial, such as online classes and with private tutors, and they have fewer educational resources and parental support for home learning.

Researchers have called on the Government to address the disparities between children from different backgrounds during school closures, as they warn the crisis is likely to widen attainment gaps.

A survey, of more than 4,000 parents, found that higherincome families are much more likely than their less well-off peers to report that their child’s school provides interactive resources for learning.

Nearly two in three (64%) secondary pupils in state schools from the richest households are offered some form of active help, compared with 47% from the poorest fifth of families, the poll suggests.