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<p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response will outline the education reforms
for England.</p><p>The government remains committed to raising educational standards
for all pupils, to ensure they have the knowledge, qualifications and skills they
need to succeed in life. The proportion of schools now rated by Ofsted as Good or
Outstanding has risen from 68% in 2010 to 86% in 2020. For all phases of education,
there is funding in place that specifically targets disadvantaged children and young
people, in order to tackle the attainment gap.</p><p>For children in their early years,
the department is investing £17 million to deliver the Nuffield Early Language Intervention,
improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during the
COVID-19 outbreak. We have also announced £10 million for a pre-reception early language
continued professional development programme, supporting early years staff to work
with those disadvantaged children who are at risk of falling behind.</p><p>Disadvantaged
children at school continue to benefit from additional funding given to their schools
through the pupil premium, worth over £2.5 billion in 2021/22.</p><p>For 16 to 19-year-olds,
the national funding formula includes extra funding for disadvantaged students. In
2020/21 the government allocated over £530 million to enable colleges, schools, and
other providers to recruit and support disadvantaged 16 to 19-year-olds and to support
students with special educational needs and disabilities.</p><p>The Disadvantage Gap
Index shows that, between 2011 and 2019, the attainment gap between disadvantaged
and non-disadvantaged pupils narrowed by 13% at age 11 and 9% at age 16.</p>
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