The Pupil Premium – funding used to improve outcomes for the poorest pupils – should double, while its eligibility criteria should be extended to help pupils living in “deep poverty”, a social mobility expert has said.

The maximum funding per pupil for 2021-22 is £2,345.

Lee Elliot Major, social mobility professor at the University of Exeter, said the fact teachers were reporting that pupils were stealing basics such as food and tissues, showed there was an “urgent need” to review the funding.

He called for all the Conservative Party leadership candidates to set out how they would tackle poverty and support education recovery catch-up following the pandemic.

Prof Elliot Major, who spoke to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility this week, said it was “vital” there was “no policy paralysis created by political instability at the very time leadership is needed to address unprecedented challenges currently facing schools and universities”.

He added that failure to act could leave a generation “scarred” by Covid-19 and that it was “disappointing” that there had been little mention from candidates regarding levelling up or social mobility.

“Teachers on the frontline are seeing children turning up to school hungry, tired and anxious – with many still missing school altogether,” he said.

“Pupils are stealing basic items like tissues, they can’t pay for the bus to get to school, some are missing out on sixth form because they’ve started working to help their families.

“This year will also see the toughest university admissions round in living memory. Not enough money has been spent on helping teachers repair the damage caused by the pandemic, and the money spent so far has not been implemented well.”

Prof Elliot Major said he wanted the Pupil Premium funding given to schools to double and for the benefit to be given to more of the “working poor”.

He added that his research showed that Covid-19 had led to an average three to four months’ lost learning for pupils, and that the impact was “particularly acute” for younger children.

The pandemic was likely to lead to a 4-12% decline in income mobility, he said, adding that there should be a national, university-led tutoring service for pupils to catch up on lost learning.

He has previously said the removal of the focus on disadvantaged pupils from the National Tutoring Programme – the flagship Government scheme to help pupils catch up following the pandemic – risks failing the children that need it most, describing the move as “outrageous” and “cynical” in March.

Prof Elliot Major said: “Progress made in schools in narrowing gaps in achievement between different groups of children has gone back a decade, but this can also be an opportunity to prioritise social justice in education policy.”