Pandemic school closures could widen gap between rich and poor 

Extended school closures will lead to growing deficits in learning and may reverse many of the gains made in recent years.

School closures due to the pandemic could reverse much of the progress made addressing educational disadvantage, widening the gap between rich and poor and impacting on children’s lifetime earnings.

Disadvantaged students will “almost certainly” see larger impacts on their earnings, and school closures have had a “devastating, and likely lasting” impact on children with special educational needs and their families.