Educational attainment – Government action

UK Government actions:

• The UK Government resumed the use of school exams in summer 2022, with exam boards instructed to set grade boundaries at a point between 2021 levels and levels prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Exams in 2020 and in 2021 were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, students received grades based on teacher assessments.
• In March 2022, the UK Government published a schools white paper, including commitments to improve attainment.
• In March 2022, the UK Government published Inclusive Britain in response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ report. It includes a commitment to analyse educational attainment and investigate any implications to tackle disparities.
• In February 2022, the UK Government published its Levelling Up plans, including a commitment to improve attainment in more deprived parts of the country.
• In September 2021, the UK Government’s new early years foundation stage framework came into force, aiming to improve educational outcomes at age five.
• In July 2021, the UK Government launched education programmes to help support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, focused on boosting education attainment.
• In February 2021, the UK Government announced a package of £700 million to support efforts to recover learning lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2022, they announced that education recovery funding was now worth ‘nearly’ £5 billion.
• In January 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK Government ordered schools in England to move to remote learning for most pupils. This followed similar decisions in 2020. Pupils returned to schools and colleges on 8 March 2021.

Welsh Government actions: Education is devolved to the Welsh Government.

• In September 2022, the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022 gained Royal Assent. It aims to deliver a tertiary education system that has excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.
• From September 2022, the new Curriculum for Wales started to be rolled out to students aged 3–16.
• The Welsh Government resumed the use of school exams in summer 2022. Qualifications Wales decided that results would be awarded broadly midway between results in 2019 and 2021. Exams in 2020 and in 2021 were cancelled because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Instead, students received grades based on teacher assessments.
• In June 2022, the Welsh Government set the budget for the Pupil Development Grant, a financial lever aimed at improving the attainment of disadvantaged children, at £125 million, an increase of £31 million since 2018/19.
• In March 2022, the Welsh Government announced £25 million of investment in community-focused schools to tackle the impact of poverty on attainment.
• In June 2021, the Welsh Government published its renew and reform strategy, a response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education.
• Schools in Wales were closed on 14 December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened on 22 February 2021 for some pupils. Schools were also closed in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In November 2020, most provisions of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales Act) 2018 came into force, providing a new legislative framework for the identification and support of learners with additional learning needs.
• In 2018, the Welsh Government published an action plan with a number of commitments to improve Gypsy, Roma and Traveller attainment.