Introduction

As mentioned in the introduction to this book, COVID-19 has been described as a great leveller; a virus that cares not about the colour, creed or bank balance of its hosts. While there has been recognition at government level that COVID-19 is more likely to affect certain groups – Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, older people, and those with underlying health conditions in particular – there nevertheless remains something of a whimsical notion that we are all in this together. The great leveller rhetoric has perhaps been utilized in an attempt to create something of a sense of community and unity at a time of national crisis, but the reality remains that COVID-19 is far from a great leveller. It is instead an amplifier of existing inequalities underlying not only the sectors discussed in the various chapters in this book, but across almost every facet of society. With schools closing early in the pandemic and re-opening for the vast majority of pupils only after a variety of other businesses and services such as non-essential shops, pubs and hair salons, the already widening attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthy peers in England has expanded further, and the effects of this are likely to be both profound and enduring.

This chapter will discuss the stratified effects of COVID-19, and the responses to it, within the formal education sector in England based principally on socio-economic factors, with other social categorizations, including ethnic origin and disability, being discussed where relevant. It begins by considering the impact of the 2008 economic crash upon the education sector. How did the age of austerity affect schools more generally, and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular? Consideration will then be given to why this matters during the current global pandemic, and how the responses to COVID-19 are likely to have entrenched and exacerbated existing inequalities. In the concluding section, the important question of how these injustices might be remedied is addressed.