A response to The Difference’s September 2024 report, 'Who Is Losing Learning?'

The report lays bare a stark reality: in the 2022/23 academic year, pupils in England missed a record 32 million days of learning. That’s a staggering 72% increase compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2018/19. This isn’t just a blip. It’s a crisis. And it’s being fuelled by rising exclusions and suspensions; a 20% increase in just one year. In secondary schools alone, the percentage of pupils suspended rose from 14.3% to 17%.

Behind these headline figures are even more troubling truths:

• Pupils eligible for free school meals are nearly five times more likely to be permanently excluded and four times more likely to be suspended
• Children with school-identified special educational needs are five times more likely to be permanently excluded
• Those identified with mental health needs are three times more likely to change schools, and those with severe needs are 17 times more likely to end up in alternative provision.

For those who are excluded, the path ahead can feel hopeless. 90% will not pass GCSE English or Maths. Half won’t even be entered for them.

At the recent Youth Sport Trust Conference, we brought together practitioners, school leaders, and partners to reflect on this report. We used the Exclusion Continuum (Figure 1.1 in the report), which maps 14 distinct types of lost learning, from formal exclusion to self-exclusionary behaviours like internal truancy, to prompt a powerful discussion.

And we posed one central challenge to the room:

How do we move from asking “Who is losing learning?” to asking “Who is gaining learning?”

Because in our network, and across the Youth Sport Trust, we believe in the transformative power of PE, sport, and play. When harnessed intentionally, they don’t just support young people, they can redefine what’s possible for them. Some examples of the work being done:

Sports Sanctuaries

Flexible, trauma-informed spaces are designed to help young people self-regulate through physical activity within school settings.

They disrupt the exclusion continuum by:

• Acting as a preventative intervention for students beginning to disengage
• Supporting emotional regulation and resilience, both identified in the report as barriers to learning
• Providing a positive alternative to internal exclusion; a space for growth, not punishment.

My Personal Best PRU

A tailored programme for alternative provision settings focused on physical literacy and social-emotional development.

It tackles key issues raised in the report by:

• Building vital personal skills like empathy, resilience, and perseverance, especially crucial for those with trauma or unmet SEN needs
• Acting as a ‘recovery curriculum’ to reconnect disengaged students with learning
• Raising aspirations and countering the low expectations often placed on young people in AP.

Wave MAT Sport Experience Day

Delivered in partnership with Plymouth Marjon University, this hands-on, inclusive day offers AP students the chance to engage with fun, confidence-building sport, led by trainee teachers.

This initiative shows what happens when we flip the narrative to “Who is gaining learning?”:

• It expands the landscape of opportunity for AP students
• Challenges stigma and raises aspirations by giving students a window into higher education
• Builds identity and belonging by enabling young people to represent their schools
• Crucially, it develops the next generation of teachers, equipping them to be more inclusive, empathetic, and prepared to work with students at risk of exclusion.

Bolton Impact Trust

Bolton Impact Trust has taken a whole-setting approach to embedding sport into daily routines, lessons and playtime, helping students gain learning through movement, engagement and connection.

• A weekly change of sport has been introduced across all sites, supported by new equipment and “sport of the week” sessions at playtime, including archery, badminton, football, cricket, rounders and rugby
• In many lessons, sport is now used as a reward, helping shift perceptions of physical activity from punishment to positive reinforcement. Staff feel more empowered to use sport to build connections and celebrate success
• In secondary settings, new sports like curling, darts, basketball, dodgeball and table tennis have been introduced, broadening opportunities for all pupils and giving traditionally disengaged students new ways to participate
• Lunchtime sport is now more inclusive. Where football once dominated, KS3 students are now actively choosing to attend table tennis and badminton clubs
• The impact extends beyond school: parents are buying sports equipment for use at home, and some students have joined community sports teams and clubs for the first time in their lives.

We now issue a clear challenge to educators, school leaders, and partners across the system:

How will you use the power of PE, Sport and Play to create environments where young people are not only kept in learning, but thrive in it?

The evidence is there. We know that high-quality physical education supports behaviour, attendance and mental health, especially for those most at risk of exclusion. And yet, too often, it is de-prioritised. In the past decade, we’ve seen a loss of 31,000 taught PE hours. At the same time, exclusions are rising. This cannot be a coincidence?

It’s time to rethink the narrative. It’s time to reframe the question.

Not “Who is losing learning?” But “Who is gaining learning?”

That’s the challenge. That’s the opportunity. And it’s one we must choose to lead.