A waste of time
No time to waste
The poorest children have been shut in. Don’t let them get out shut out too.
The problem
Picture this - you’ve had six months away from the office. You tried to get your work done at home but you had no laptop, no internet access and no quiet space. You get back to the office and realise your teammates had what they needed to stay on track. They’re ready. You’re not.
That’s the reality that millions of poorer young people are facing after a year in and out of the classroom. Back in school, they’re alongside classmates who had what they needed to keep learning in lockdown.
Before COVID-19 you only had half the chance of getting good grades at school if you are growing up in a poor community. The odds just got much tougher.
This isn’t just about fairness, it’s also bad for the economy. Four years after the last global crash, more than one in five young people were left unemployed. For this generation, getting a good job will be hard. And without good grades – it’ll be nearly impossible.
Why we need your support
COVID-19 closed schools for a few months, but its impact will last a lifetime. We’re already seeing the shocking impact it’s having on the poorest children.
There’s a learning divide growing and we need your financial support to close it. Join a growing group determined to stop the country’s most disadvantaged children from being shut of a fair future.
10 years of progress
needed to close the attainment gap lost due to school closures. (source)
34% of learning lost
for poorer secondary school pupils due to COVID-19. (source)
Problems like this won’t go away once we’re out of lockdown. The school system will need support for at least seven more years. So whilst the world will go back to normality on the surface there will be much to be done for those who are disadvantaged.
How you'll help
Your generous support could help to close the learning divide in three main ways:
Fund Leading Together
By supporting our flagship leadership programme, you’ll help us to build long-term sustainable partnerships with schools, coaching and developing the leadership team so they can close the learning divide made so much worse by COVID-19.
Help all children to access online learning
You’ll be able to work alongside us to get devices to the children that are losing out due to their lack of access. But not only that, we’re training and supporting teachers to advance their skills in online teaching.
Give our schools a voice and access to powerful networks
To make a real difference to education across the country, we advocate for policy changes on behalf of schools serving the most disadvantaged communities. We’ve already made changes to policy, but with your support we can influence even further. What’s more, you could help us to connect more and more teachers through our networks because tackling educational inequality has to be a team effort.
Take action
Speak to our team today
Interested in beginning a conversation about the impact you could make? Get in touch via supportercare@teachfirst.org.uk to connect with a member of our team.
Donate
Want to make a difference right away? Make a donation and begin closing the learning divide today.
Get fundraising
Show your support by taking part in a challenge or raising money with friends.
