The study conducted by the Centre for Economic Performance used Understanding Society’s COVID-19 data also found that parents in the highest quartile of incomes were over four times as likely to pay for private tutoring during lockdown than those in the lowest quartile of incomes (15.7% compared with 3.8%).
Key findings
- Four in 10 school pupils received full-time schooling during April 2020 (mainly through online lessons), with a quarter receiving no teaching at all.
- In early October still only around six in 10 pupils were experiencing full-time teaching. Many pupils are missing school altogether due to local outbreaks of the virus; others appear to be missing out on some teaching because of social distancing restrictions.
University education
Higher education has also been affected by the virus. University students from the lowest income backgrounds lost 52% of their normal teaching hours as a result of lockdown, but those from the highest income groups suffered a smaller loss of 40%.
Nearly two in three students, 63%, stated that their wellbeing has been affected by the crisis. Female students were more likely than males to report this concern.
Youth and unemployment
The report also looked at youth unemployment and found young people were more likely to have experienced job lay-offs and losses in earnings compared with older workers.
More than one in 10 people aged 16 to 25 have lost their job, and just under six in 10 have seen their earnings fall since the coronavirus pandemic began. Labour market losses are more pronounced for women, the self-employed and those who grew up in a poor family.
Read the full report and watch the Panorama show
Covid 19EducationYoung people
