Schools inspections chief Amanda Spielman has warned the attainment gap between the most deprived pupils and their peers is widening during the coronavirus crisis.
The chief inspector of Ofsted told MPs that home schooling was an “imperfect substitute” for schools, adding: “Children are losing education.”
Ms Spielman told the Education Select Committee she was “seriously concerned” about the impact of partial closures of schools on the most vulnerable pupils such as those in special schools.
“The longer the closure or almost closure, the greater the problems for those children,” she said.
She warned that COVID-19 was “clearly going to present the biggest problem for the poorest, the lowest-achieving academically and the least motivated children.
“Whether we like it or not, it is going to widen gaps, especially in the short term.”
But she said she believed that many children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, would “bounce back pretty fast” once they had returned to school.
Schools, colleges and nurseries across the UK closed their doors to the majority of pupils, apart from the children of key workers and vulnerable youngsters, five weeks ago.
The Government is currently considering how to tackle the difficult question of how to reopen the school gates - with plans unlikely to be announced before the next lockdown review on May 7.
Ms Spielman’s comments came after official figures last week revealed that only a small percentage of vulnerable children are attending schools which have been kept open for them during the lockdown.
“We know that home and online learning are very imperfect substitutes for the school experience. We know that children are losing education,” she said.
“It is not just children who are disadvantaged or academically behind. It is children without motivation. So it is in children’s interests to get back into school as soon as possible.”
Ms Spielman also said she does not expect full Ofsted inspections to resume before the summer holidays.
However, it would be vital to get inspectors into schools as soon as possible in the next academic term as there would be no exams results to guide parents
She added that schools would not then be judged on their response to the coronavirus outbreak as that would “put everyone on the spot” and “find everyone wanting”.
