A think-tank report offered evidence of how early intervention, followed through from pre-school years to primary school years, could break the intergenerational cycle of under-achievement and multiple deprivation.
Source: Jean Gross (ed.), Getting in Early: Primary schools and early intervention, Centre for Social Justice (020 7620 1120) and Smith Institute
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Dec
A think-tank report said that the Liberal Democrat Party should end its opposition to tuition fees. Since most taxpayers were non-graduates with relatively low lifetime earnings, the fees involved a significant redistribution of resources from poor to rich. The gap between the higher-education participation rates of rich and poor students was neither created nor worsened by the introduction of tuition fees. The real reason why students from low-income families were not going to university in greater numbers was that too few were achieving the exam results they needed to apply.
Source: Julian Astle, Time's Up: Why the Lib Dems should end their opposition to tuition fees, CentreForum (020 7340 1160)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Dec
A study examined influences on children's development during key stage 2 (ages 7-11). Mother's highest qualification level, and the early years home learning environment, were still among the strongest predictors of better academic and social-behavioural outcomes at ages 10 and 11, in line with findings at younger ages. Pupils who were eligible for free school meals reported higher enjoyment of school than those not eligible: but they tended to have slightly poorer behavioural self-image.
Source: Kathy Sylva et al., Final Report from the Primary Phase: Pre-School, School and Family Influences on Children's Development During Key Stage 2 (Age 7 11), Research Report RR061, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report said that parental involvement in children's education from an early age had a significant effect on educational achievement, and continued to do so into adolescence and adulthood.
Source: The Impact of Parental Involvement on Children's Education, Research Report 00924-2008, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Nov
An article examined whether Sure Start Local Programmes in England affected the well-being of children (at age 3) and their families. After controlling for background factors, beneficial effects were found to be associated with the programmes for 5 out of 14 outcomes. Children in the SSLP areas showed better social development than those in the non-SSLP areas, with more positive social behaviour and greater independence. Families in SSLP areas showed less negative parenting, and provided a better home-learning environment. These families used more services for supporting child and family development than those not living in SSLP areas. The contrast between these and previous findings on the effect of SSLPs might indicate increased exposure to programmes that had become more effective.
Source: Edward Melhuish, Jay Belsky, Alastair Leyland and Jacqueline Barnes, 'Effects of fully-established Sure Start Local Programmes on 3-year-old children and their families living in England: a quasi-experimental observational study', The Lancet, 8 November 2008
Links: Abstract | Guardian report | Pulse report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report examined the key leadership characteristics required to promote the achievement of white working-class pupils. It said that future head teachers should spend time in schools where white working-class pupils were successful, in order to learn how to disrupt the cycle of serious underachievement endemic in this group of young people.
Source: Denis Mongon and Christopher Chapman, Successful Leadership for Promoting the Achievement of White Working Class Pupils, National College for School Leadership (0845 609 0009) and National Union of Teachers
Links: Report | Summary | NCSL/NUT press release | Manchester University press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Nov
A study found that of the 100 most socially selective state schools in England, 17 were grammar schools and 54 were faith schools.
Source: Robert Coe et al., Evidence on the Effects of Selective Educational Systems, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | Summary | BBC report
Date: 2008-Oct
A paper examined the relationship between state-funded secondary school performance and local residential property values in seven major English cities. High-performing schools stimulated a price premium in local residential property markets of 1-3 per cent for each additional 10 percentage point improvement in the pass rate in GCSE examinations. (GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education)
Source: John Glen and Joseph Nellis, 'The Price You Pay': The impact of state funded secondary school performance on residential property values in England, Cranfield School of Management (01234 754348)
Links: Cranfield press release
Date: 2008-Oct
A think-tank report said that schools that took more pupils from deprived backgrounds should be given extra money in the form of a 'pupil premium'.
Source: Sam Freedman and Simon Horner, School Funding and Social Justice: A guide to the pupil premium, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report (by an official advisory body) said that most new Sure Start children's centres were performing well, and were supporting the government's aim of giving pre-school children the best start in life. However, the two-year turnaround time allowed to build centres was proving very challenging for local authorities and the heads of the new centres. This was having an impact on design: although the centres were rated highly by families, very few were rated as good by design professionals.
Source: Sure Start Children's Centres: A Post-occupancy Evaluation, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (020 7960 2400)
Date: 2008-Oct
A report said that widespread poor education and careers advice was preventing large numbers of academically able pupils from non-privileged homes going on to higher education, and diverting them into a 'cul de sac of opportunity'.
Source: Increasing Higher Education Participation Amongst Disadvantaged Young People and Schools in Poor Communities, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | Telegraph report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
Researchers conducted a large-scale survey of parents and carers, and of their children and young people, to develop a robust segmentation of these groups based on their attitudes, aspirations, and behaviour. High proportions of parents expressed positive feelings about their role, with 89 per cent saying they enjoyed their family life most of the time and 79 per cent happy with how close their family was. Lack of social support, low self-esteem, and feelings of being constrained by family life were strongly correlated with parental discontent. 3 out of 10 children aged 14-19 felt they had no or little control over their future, this feeling being heightened among children born to younger mothers and living in lone-parent families. While the majority of parents and children agreed with each other that they had a close bond, for a sizeable minority relationships had broken down: 16 per cent felt that communication with their parent was pointless as they never listened, and 26 per cent felt that their parent was always putting them down in some way. Parents who lacked qualifications themselves were less likely than average to be engaged in their child's education.
Source: Nick Gilby et al., National Survey of Parents and Children: Family Life, Aspirations & Engagement with Learning in 2008, Research Report RR059, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2008-Oct
A report examined the benefits to be expected from learning as a lifetime experience. It said that 70-90 per cent of young people who would go on to experience serious deprivation in their adult years could be identified while still in primary school from what was known about their personal and family circumstances.
Source: Leon Feinstein, David Budge, John Vorhaus and Kathryn Duckworth (eds.), The Social and Personal Benefits of Learning: A summary of key research findings, Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning/University of London (020 7612 6291)
Links: Report | IOE press release
Date: 2008-Oct
An article reported a case study of a programme within the national Sure Start initiative in England, 1999-2005. Programme 'reach' was conceptualized as having two aspects: contact and use. It was found that, conceptualized as contact, programme reach was virtually 100 per cent. Conceptualized as use, it varied according to services within the programme and to some extent according to family characteristics. The relatively more disadvantaged families were reached almost as much as other families.
Source: Peter Hannon, Caroline Pickstone, Rupert Suckling and Deborah Crofts, 'The reach of early intervention: a case study of a Sure Start programme', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Sep
A paper said that a 'renewed sense of urgency' was required to address the United Kingdom's relative underperformance in literacy and numeracy. Despite the fact that the government had raised education spending and expanded the capacity of the education system in key areas, the system seemed to be particularly poor at ensuring good performance of pupils in the middle-to- bottom half of the education performance distribution.
Source: Anne-Marie Brook, Raising Education Achievement and Breaking the Cycle of Inequality in the United Kingdom, Working Paper 633, Economics Department/Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (+33 1 4524 8200)
Links: Paper
Date: 2008-Sep
An article examined the difficulties of establishing a clear count of higher education students in terms of the categories used for widening participation, such as occupational background or ethnicity. Once prior qualifications were taken into account there was no evidence that potential students were unfairly and disproportionately denied access to higher education in terms of occupation, ethnicity, sex, or disability.
Source: Stephen Gorard, 'Who is missing from higher education?', Cambridge Journal of Education, Volume 38 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Sep
A think-tank report said that the introduction of variable tuition fees in English universities had been accompanied by significant additional expenditure by universities on means-tested bursaries, and on other financial aid for undergraduate students. However, this market was a 'highly distorted', with students from low-income homes receiving, on average, £1,000 less in bursaries if they went to an ex-polytechnic rather than a redbrick university. There was a strong case for introducing a national bursary scheme, which would provide eligible students with a guaranteed bursary from pooled institutional income – and promote greater affordability for students – but which would nevertheless allow individual universities to develop their own financial support schemes.
Source: Juliet Chester and Bahram Bekhradnia, Financial Support in English Universities: The case for a national bursary scheme, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | Summary | NUS press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals in the highest-ranked 200 comprehensive schools had risen from 5.9 per cent to 7.6 per cent in the previous decade – compared with an overall drop in national eligibility from 17.5 per cent to 13.6 per cent. Schools which were responsible for their own admissions tended to be more socially exclusive, with 7.5 per cent of pupils on free school meals compared with 8.1 per cent in local authority-controlled schools, although academies and city technology colleges had the highest proportions of low-income pupils.
Source: Low Income Pupils in High Performing Comprehensive Schools: An analysis of free school meal rates at the highest performing non selective state schools over the last ten years, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that private schools took 7 per cent of school-aged pupils, but provided 21 per cent of A-level entries. In 2007 leading private schools achieved better A-level results than grammar schools (selective state schools) in 24 out of 30 subjects. (A = Advanced)
Source: Alan Smithers and Pamela Robinson, HMC Schools: A Quantitative Analysis, Centre for Education and Employment Research/University of Buckingham (01280 820338)
Links: Report | CEER press release | FT report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Sep
The government began consultation on proposals to give Sure Start children's centres a statutory identity.
Source: Legislating for Sure Start Children's Centres, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Consultation document | DCSF press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Sep
An article examined the effects of social class and gender on subject choice for children aged 14-16 in England, over and above effects attributable to students' ability. The effect of socio-economic background was significant in relation to some subject choices, and was stronger for females than for males. The evidence suggested that existing policy aimed at increasing subject choice within and between schools would deepen differences between the subjects studied by students from different socio-economic backgrounds.
Source: Peter Davies, Shqiponje Telhaj, David Hutton, Nick Adnett and Robert Coe, 'Socioeconomic background, gender and subject choice in secondary schooling', Educational Research, Volume 50 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Sep
Researchers examined the effect of changing economic circumstances in childhood and on subsequent educational and other outcomes. Although income effects – the effects of changes in family income as experienced by children – on educational and behaviour outcomes did exist, they were not large. It seemed that substantial improvements (or declines) in income were required in order to have a marked effect on these outcomes.
Source: Ian Plewis and Constantinos Kallis, Changing Economic Circumstances in Childhood and Their Effects on Subsequent Educational and Other Outcomes, Working Paper 49, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2008-Aug
Campaigners highlighted significant differences in the GCSE attainment of children from low-income households in different education authorities across England. In the worst areas, fewer than 1 in 4 of those children receiving free school meals achieved five good (A* to C grade) GCSEs – compared to 59 per cent of those in the best area. (GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education)
Source: Press release 20 August 2008, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913)
Links: ECP press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Aug
A report examined the relative influence of different contexts on pupil achievement at key stage 2 (age 11) – background socio-demographic features such as income, parental education; parental support, and parent-child relationships; the nature of the school and its population; and individual child ability. Pupils with better contexts had higher scores in all three key stage 2 assessments. Child capabilities were most important in predicting key stage 2 attainment; social and economic family background factors carried the second largest influence. Much weaker in predicting attainment were proximal features of the family (family relationships and behaviours), with the school-peer context having the weakest influence.
Source: Kathryn Duckworth, The Influence of Context on Attainment in Primary School: Interactions between children, family and school contexts, Research Report 28, Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning/University of London (020 7612 6291)
Date: 2008-Aug
An article examined how fear of debt and financial constraints affected prospective students' choices of where and what to study. Financial issues constrained lower social class students' choice of university far more than those from other social classes. Fear of debt was related to two key financially-driven decisions – applying to a university with low living costs, and applying to one with good term-time employment opportunities – but only for students from low-income families. Low-income students were more likely than their wealthier peers to perceive the costs of higher education as a debt rather than an investment.
Source: Claire Callender and Jonathan Jackson, 'Does the fear of debt constrain choice of university and subject of study?', Studies in Higher Education, Volume 33 Issue 4
Links: Abstract | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Aug
A report by the opposition Conservative Party said that more than half of all secondary schools in the poorest areas of the country were officially classed as 'failing'. It called for urgent action to close the widening gap in education between rich and poor areas.
Source: A Failed Generation: Educational inequality under Labour, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Aug
The education inspectorate in Wales examined a Welsh Assembly Government initiative aimed at improving achievement levels among those who were economically and socially disadvantaged. Pupils taking part in 'RAISE' activities were making good progress in two-thirds of the schools visited: but in many schools RAISE work was not focused directly enough on tackling socio-economic disadvantage.
Source: The Impact of RAISE, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release | TES report
Date: 2008-Jul
An article examined the influences on social status attainment in early adulthood of parental social status, childhood cognitive ability, school motivation, and education. The number of years spent in full-time education was by far the most important determinant of status attainment, and there were persistent social inequalities in status attainment. The findings confirmed the hypothesis that social background and cognitive ability were partially mediated through school motivation and education.
Source: Ingrid Schoon, 'A transgenerational model of status attainment: the potential mediating role of school motivation and education', National Institute Economic Review Volume 205 Number 1, National Institute for Economic and Social Research (020 7654 1901)
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jul
An article examined the transitions from primary to secondary school for a contemporary cohort of children moving between state schools in England. The results suggested that the experiences of pupils from lower-income backgrounds at age 11 might be quite different, on average, from that of their peers. Low-income pupils tended to find themselves more concentrated within lower-performing secondary schools.
Source: Simon Burgess, Ron Johnston, Tomas Key, Carol Propper and Deborah Wilson, 'The transition of pupils from primary to secondary school in England', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Volume 33 Issue 3
Links: Abstract | RGS press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jul
A report said that 60,000 pupils – who at age 11, 14, or 16 were among the top one-fifth of academic performers in English state schools – did not subsequently enter higher education by age 18. Pupils on free school meals were 19 percentage points less likely than other school pupils to enter higher education by age 19, when school qualifications were not taken into account: but pupils on free school meals were almost as likely as other school pupils to enter higher education by age 18 if they attained A-levels.
Source: Wasted Talent? Attrition rates of high-achieving pupils between school and university, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jul
The inspectorate for education and children's services examined good practice in the education of white boys from low-income backgrounds. It emphasized the link between emotional well-being and achievement, and recommended that schools encourage boys to join youth and community groups so that they felt that they had something to add to the life of the school and community. The report also highlighted the importance of making parents and carers feel valued in the school environment.
Source: White Boys from Low-income Backgrounds: Good practice in schools, HMI 070220, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (07002 637833)
Links: Report | Christian Institute press release
Date: 2008-Jul
An article highlighted conflicts and dilemmas within the evaluation of the Sure Start programme. It illustrated the difficulties placed on local evaluators by the lack of clear structures within which to work.
Source: Jill Clark and Elaine Hall, 'Will the lessons be learned? Reflections on local authority evaluations and the use of research evidence', Evidence & Policy, Volume 4 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
An audit report said that some progress was being made in encouraging under-represented groups to continue into higher education: but particular sections of society remained significantly under-represented, and too little was known about the link between measures taken by institutions and any improvements in access.
Source: Widening Participation in Higher Education, HC 725 (Session 2007-08), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release | HEFCE press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report examined the barriers faced at school by children from deprived communities, and sought to identify ways to improve their chances of success.
Source: The Extra Mile: How schools succeed in raising aspirations in deprived communities, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report said that efforts to create a more equitable education system were at a 'strategic crossroad', trapped between a target-driven effectiveness and improvement model of service reform, and efforts to develop localized and co-ordinated responses to inequity. If equity were to be enhanced, the space should be created for policies to be joined up locally and oriented to meeting community needs.
Source: Mel Ainscow, Alan Dyson, Sue Goldrick, Kirstin Kerr and Susie Miles, Equity in Education: Responding to Context, Centre for Equity in Education/University of Manchester (0161 275 3464)
Links: Report | Manchester University press release | TES report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report said that local authorities in England allocated only around one-half of the extra resources that central government paid them to educate children from disadvantaged backgrounds to the schools that those children actually attended, choosing to spread the extra resources over all pupils in their area instead.
Source: Luke Sibieta, Haroon Chowdry and Alastair Muriel, Level Playing Field? The implications of school funding, CfBT Education Trust (0118 902 1000)
Links: Report | IFS press release | LGA press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Telegraph report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jun
A literature review examined differences in aspirations between social groups, and how educational and career aspirations were formed and developed in response to different environments and circumstances. Girls, and young people from minority ethnic groups and from higher socio-economic backgrounds, tended to have higher aspirations than their counterparts. Parents from these groups also tended to have higher aspirations for their children. Conversely, socially disadvantaged groups such as teenage parents tended to have low aspirations for themselves and for their children.
Source: Leslie Morrison Gutman and Rodie Akerman, Determinants of Aspirations, Research Report 27, Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning/University of London (020 7612 6291)
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report said that although there were large raw gaps in higher education participation rates by socio-economic status, these differences disappeared once controls for prior attainment were included. This suggested that it was not barriers arising at the point of entry into HE (such as borrowing constraints) that were most problematic, but poor attainment in secondary schools. If results could be improved between age 11 and age 16, those from lower-income backgrounds were at least as likely to go on to university as their more advantaged peers. By contrast, most ethnic minority groups were significantly more likely to participate in HE than their white British counterparts.
Source: Haroon Chowdry, Claire Crawford, Lorraine Dearden, Alissa Goodman and Anna Vignoles, Widening Participation in Higher Education: Analysis using linked administrative data, Report R69, (Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Date: 2008-Jun
A report examined the needs and experiences of refugees and asylum-seekers in secondary schooling. Although young people and their families were generally satisfied with schools, the research also identified a number of barriers to inclusion. These ranged from excessive delays in finding a school place, to experience of bullying or racist attitudes, and financial constraints which made it hard for pupils to be fully integrated.
Source: Lisa Doyle and Megan McCorriston, Beyond the School Gates: Supporting refugees and asylum seekers in secondary school, Refugee Council (020 7820 3042)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-May
A new book described insights gained from the national evaluation of Sure Start. Separate chapters covered: ethnicity; childcare; parents; special needs; maternity services; domestic violence; and buildings and spaces.
Source: Angela Anning and Mog Ball (eds.), Improving Services for Young Children: From Sure Start to Children's Centres, SAGE Publications Ltd (020 7324 8500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-May
An article examined trends in social class inequalities in young people's educational attainment and higher education entry between the mid-1980s and the end of the 1990s in England and Scotland. Scotland had higher educational attainment rates but also higher social class inequalities than England. Moreover, while in England social class inequalities at upper-secondary and tertiary level had declined over time, in Scotland no evidence of such a trend had been found.
Source: Cristina Iannelli, 'Expansion and social selection in education in England and Scotland', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Apr
An article examined the impact of neighbourhood quality (assessed when cohort members were aged 5) on boys' and girls' school-leaving age. Neighbourhood quality was more strongly related to men's than women's school-leaving age.
Source: Eirini Flouri and Katharina Ereky-Stevens, 'Urban neighbourhood quality and school leaving age: gender differences and some hypotheses', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Apr
A think-tank report examined potential outcomes of the planned review of the system of university funding and student support in 2009. It was possible, but not certain, that the maximum fee universities could charge would rise – hitting students from low-income families hardest.
Source: Juliet Chester and Bahram Bekhradnia, Funding Higher Fees: Some implications of a rise in the fee cap, Higher Education Policy Institute (01865 284450)
Links: Report | UCU press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Apr
The number of pupils at the main private schools rose 0.8 per cent between 2007 and 2008, to 511,677. This was the highest growth rate since 2003.
Source: Press release 30 April 2008, Independent Schools Council (020 7766 7070)
Links: ISC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Apr
A new book examined how successful Britain had been in accommodating racial, religious, and cultural diversity in the education system; and whether the introduction of market principles to the education system had created further problems for ethnic minorities.
Source: Sally Tomlinson, Race and Education: Policy and politics in Britain, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Apr
A report said that poverty had a profound and negative impact on child development and pre-school experiences. In addition the education system compounded inequality in a number of ways, including: selection procedures, complex funding streams, and extra costs for social/cultural/educational activities.
Source: Gabrielle Preston, 2 Skint 4 School: Time to end the classroom divide, Child Poverty Action Group (020 7837 7979)
Links: Report | CPAG press release | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Mar
The government published for the first time local authority data on the allocation of secondary school places in England by parental preference. 81.6 per cent of families received an offer at their first preference school, and 8.9 per cent were offered a place at their second preference school. But a 'significant minority' of schools were found to use practices which did not comply with the admissions code, including: schools asking parents to make financial contributions as a condition of admission; not giving looked-after children the priority required by law; asking about the marital, occupational, or financial status of parents; giving priority on the basis of family members who were not siblings attending the school; and interviewing children.
Source: 2008 Secondary Applications and Offers, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Hansard (1) | Hansard (2) | LGA press release | CofE press release | Ekklesia press release | BHA press release | NUT press release | NASUWT press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report | BBC report | FT report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Mar
A report said that there was a need to move from a 'monolithic' conception of 'white British' as an homogeneous group, to explicitly recognize the high degree of polarization around socio-economic factors within the white British group. White British pupils were consistently the lowest-achieving ethnic group whatever the socio-economic dimension. The group with the lowest examination attainment at age 16 were white British working class pupils, both boys and girls.
Source: Steve Strand, Minority Ethnic Pupils in the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England: Extension report on performance in public examinations at age 16, Research Report 029, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Mar
A new book examined the success of attempts to accommodate racial, religious, and cultural diversity in the education system.
Source: Sally Tomlinson, Race and Education: Policy and politics in Britain, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Mar
A study found that students from non-privileged backgrounds who attended a university summer school did well in their university degrees – 88 per cent of those responding to a survey who attended a summer school graduated with a 2:1 or first class degree. This compared with 56 per cent of students achieving these classifications nationally, and 67 per cent in leading research universities (where most summer school students enrolled).
Source: Ten Year Review of Sutton Trust Summer Schools, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Mar
A survey found that over 80 per cent of young people aged 15-18 believed that the government was not doing enough to make university financially accessible for young people; and that 1 in 3 of those students who wanted to go to university said that they would not be able to afford to go.
Source: James Greenhalgh, Uni Fees: Are They Fair?, UK Youth Parliament (020 7843 6310)
Links: Report | UKYP press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
A paper examined the extent to which the characteristics of the samples used could affect the results of research into the intergenerational transmission of schooling.
Source: Chiara Pronzato, Why Educated Mothers Don't Make Educated Children? A statistical study in the intergenerational transmission of schooling, Working Paper 2008-11, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2008-Mar
The charities regulator published draft supplementary guidance for charities advancing education, including private schools. It examined the effects that fee-charging might have on who could benefit from charities, and ways to ensure that those who could not afford the fees could still benefit.
Source: Public Benefit and the Advancement of Education: Draft supplementary guidance for consultation, Charity Commission for England and Wales (0870 333 0123)
Links: Draft Guidance | Charity Commission press release | ISC press release | BBC report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2008-Mar
A report said that children in Sure Start areas showed more positive social behaviour and greater independence than counterparts in similarly deprived areas. Parents were more likely to provide a better learning environment for their children and exhibit less negative parenting, and made greater use of support services. The benefits of living in an area with a children's centre were not confined to particular groups, and applied to the most disadvantaged, such as teenage and lone parents and workless households.
Source: National Evaluation of Sure Start, The Impact of Sure Start Local Programmes on Three Year Olds and Their Families, Research Report NESS/2008/FR/027, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | DCSF press release | Sure Start press release | Community Care report | Children & Young People Now report | BBC report | FT report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Mar
A report said that schools that had predominantly white or Asian pupils could damage local communities and should be avoided. Non-mixed schools perpetuated extremist attitudes among white pupils, and did not prepare Muslim Asians for possible prejudice later. (Researchers questioned a sample of young people in Burnley in the wake of the town's 2001 riots.)
Source: Alan Billings and Andrew Holden, Interfaith Interventions and Cohesive Communities: The effectiveness of interfaith activity in towns marked by enclavisation and parallel lives, Department of Religious Studies/Lancaster University (01524 592425)
Links: Report | Lancaster University press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
Researchers found 'robust evidence' of an association between educational inequality and some forms of juvenile crime, notably violent and racially motivated crime.
Source: Ricardo Sabates, Leon Feinstein and Anirudh Shingal, Educational Inequality and Juvenile Crime: An area-based analysis, Research Report 26, Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning/University of London (020 7612 6291)
Links: Report | Brief | IOE press release | NUT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Feb
A study found that private school pupils enjoyed facilities that were usually far better than those available in state schools, and also benefited through improved pay later in life. These financial returns were broadly comparable to the returns on other capital.
Source: Francis Green, Stephen Machin, Richard Murphy and Yu Zhu, The Changing Economic Returns to Private Education, Nuffield Foundation (020 7631 0566)
Links: Nuffield Foundation press release | LSE press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
Researchers examined the motivations and experiences of white urban middle-class parents who made a conscious choice for their children to be educated at their local state secondary, whatever the league table positioning. The children did well in terms of academic achievement and were often favoured by their teachers. A positive choice to select the local school when other opportunities were available could be seen as a clever 'investment strategy' by knowledgeable parents who understood that their children were very likely to do well by virtue of their background.
Source: Diane Reay, Gill Crozier and David James, Identity, Educational Choice and the White Urban Middle Classes, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report | UWE press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
An article examined the degree of social segregation in England's secondary schools, employing a cross-national perspective. England was shown to be a middle-ranking country, mostly accounted for by unevenness in social background in the state school sector. Cross-country differences in segregation were associated with the prevalence of selective choice of pupils by schools.
Source: Stephen Jenkins, John Micklewright and Sylke Schnepf, 'Social segregation in secondary schools: how does England compare with other countries?', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 34 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Feb
A study found that private schools employed a disproportionate share of teachers relative to the number of pupils they educated, and that the gap between the private and state sectors had been increasing. Private school teachers were more likely than state school teachers to possess postgraduate qualifications, and to be specialists in subjects – such as maths and science – where there were shortages of teachers.
Source: Francis Green, Stephen Machin, Richard Murphy and Yu Zhu, Competition for Private and State School Teachers, Nuffield Foundation (020 7631 0566)
Links: Nuffield Foundation press release | LSE press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
A new book brought together the lessons learned from the Sure Start programme. Separate chapters covered: child development and healthcare; partnership working with existing local services; parental employment and supporting families with young children; reaching out to marginalized groups; and strengthening communities.
Source: Justine Schneider, Mark Avis and Paul Leighton (eds.), Supporting Children and Families: Lessons from Sure Start for evidence-based practice in health, social care and education, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (020 7833 2307)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Feb
A paper examined the association between family income and children's cognitive ability, socio-emotional outcomes, and physical health. Children from low-income families were disadvantaged at age 7-9 across the full spectrum of outcomes, the gradient being strongest for cognitive outcomes and weakest for physical health. Many aspects of growing up in poverty were harmful to children's development, and narrowly-targeted interventions were unlikely to have a significant impact on intergenerational mobility.
Source: Paul Gregg, Carol Propper and Elizabeth Washbrook, Understanding the Relationship Between Parental Income and Multiple Child Outcomes: A decomposition analysis, CASEpaper 129, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion/London School of Economics (020 7955 6679)
Date: 2008-Feb
A study examined the impact of financial considerations on the decisions of students aged 16-20 about participation in higher education. It focused on intentions to live at home while studying at university, and the extent to which bursaries influenced institutional choice. Nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) of students who had decided not to pursue study in higher education reported that avoiding debt had affected their decision 'much' or 'very much'.
Source: Peter Davies, Kim Slack, Amanda Hughes, Jean Mangan and Katy Vigurs, Knowing Where to Study? Fees, bursaries and fair access, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2008-Feb
The inspectorate for education and children's services said that extended schools and Sure Start children's centres made a 'positive contribution' to improving the lives of children and their families, as well as achieving overall success. But some did not do enough to help harder-to-reach groups – including fathers and some minority ethnic groups.
Source: How Well Are They Doing? The impact of children's centres and extended schools, HMI, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (07002 637833)
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | TDA press release | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Jan
Information was published on pupil performance in England in 2006-07, analyzed by ethnicity, English as a first Language, free school meals, and special educational needs. At GCSE and equivalent, 62.8 per cent of pupils from higher-income families got 5 or more A* to C grade GCSEs, compared with 35.5 per cent of those from low-income families. (GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education)
Source: National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2006/07, Statistical First Release 38/2007 (updated), Department for Children, Schools and Families (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jan
The charities regulator published guidelines on what constituted 'public benefit'. Charities (included private schools) would be required to be 'outward-looking and inclusive', and to demonstrate that they were not 'exclusive clubs'.
Source: Charities and Public Benefit, Charity Commission for England and Wales (0870 333 0123)
Links: Guidance | Charity Commission press release | NCVO press release | ISC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jan
The watchdog for access to higher education said that, in the first year of the new fee regime, higher education institutions spent a quarter of their additional fee income from variable tuition fees on supporting lower-income and other disadvantaged students, and on additional outreach work.
Source: Access Agreement Monitoring: Outcomes for 2006-07, Office for Fair Access (0117 931 7171)
Links: Report | OFFA press release | HEFCE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jan
A report said that women students and students from from ethnic minorities got lower-than-expected degree classifications. Institutions in higher education needed to help close the gap by implementing systems to evaluate, review, and (where required) re-design their teaching/learning/assessment activities.
Source: Ethnicity, Gender and Degree Attainment Project: Final report, Higher Education Academy (01904 717500)
Links: Report | HEA press release | UCU press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jan
