Towards resilience: Addressing inequalities in education

On 3 February 2021, Local Trust and the Education Policy Institute (EPI) partnered to host a panel discussion exploring the fragility of the education system both before and during the pandemic and how communities can play a part in a more resilient future.

Our education system has faced a huge shock since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With schools closing and students and teachers having to adapt to remote learning, the areas of weakness in our system have been widely exposed.

According to EPI research, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers had stopped closing for the first time in a decade before the pandemic began. The disruption in learning caused by the crisis could lead to worsened outcomes for the disadvantaged children who were already over 18 months of learning behind their peers by the time they finish their GCSEs.

This event explored whether a community-led or place-based approach could support the school system through any future crises.