This NFER report summarises the main findings from two national research studies focusing on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mainstream and special education. The report summarises key findings from a series of surveys and interviews conducted by two research teams in the summer terms of 2020 and 2021.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had profound effects on education in both mainstream and special schools. Education in England was considerably disrupted during the 2020/1 and 2021/22 school years. There were two periods of partial school closure when most pupils stayed at home (March-May 2020 and January-March 2021). Schools had to adopt strict infection control measures for those attending on site, while simultaneously providing remote teaching/learning activities for pupils at home.
It is estimated that between March 2020 and April 2021, mainstream school pupils in England lost about a third of their normal learning time.
In July 2020, nearly all teachers (98 per cent) in mainstream schools estimated that their pupils were behind in their curriculum learning compared to where they would normally expect them to be, by an average of around three months.
Teachers and senior leaders in mainstream schools also thought that vulnerable pupils (including pupils with an EHCP) were, on average, less engaged in learning than their classmates during the first period of partial school closures.