A report said that England was one of the most unequal countries for children's reading levels, with the gap between the strongest and weakest readers equivalent to seven years of schooling. It said that four in ten children from disadvantaged backgrounds could not read well by the age of 11. The report made a range of recommendations to improve children's enjoyment of, and engagement with, reading, and to improve the pre-school development of language skills.
Source: Read On. Get On: How reading can help children escape poverty, Save the Children
Links: Report | SCF press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A think-tank report examined educational inequality in England and made a range of recommendations, including for improvement in early years provision, for state boarding school places for disadvantaged children, for schools to share learning, for review of the criteria for targeting the pupil premium, for more free schools, and for changes in the further education system.
Source: Closing the Divide: Tackling educational inequality in England, Centre for Social Justice
Links: Report | CSJ press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A think-tank report called for changes in the education system to improve social mobility. Their ten key recommendations included: for fairer admissions to comprehensives, grammar schools, and independent schools; to improve access to high quality early years education and care for children from disadvantaged backgrounds; to improve the quality of classroom teaching; for a national programme for highly able state school pupils; for high quality, personalized education and careers guidance; and for expansion in the number of good apprenticeships.
Source: Mobility Manifesto, Sutton Trust
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A report said that 76 per cent of United Kingdom children aged 5-14 said they knew 'how to play an instrument', compared with 41 per cent in 1999. However, it said that many children and young people did not have access to instrumental lessons and children from families in lower socio-economic groups were significantly disadvantaged compared with their peers from more affluent backgrounds. The report said that regional provision was variable, as were teachers' experiences, which varied widely depending on the sector of the education system in which they worked. The report made recommendations.
Source: Making Music, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
Links: Report | ABRSM press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Sep
An article examined class and gender inequalities in the choices and decisions made by young people in their final year of compulsory schooling.
Source: Helene Snee and Fiona Devine, 'Taking the next step: class, resources and educational choice across the generations', Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 17 Number 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Aug
An article examined explanations for performance in the post primary education sector in Northern Ireland, and the social injustices in the existing system.
Source: Vani Borooah and Colin Knox, 'Access and performance inequalities: post-primary education in Northern Ireland', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 22 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Aug
A new book examined the impact of social class and inequality on educational outcomes, and the interplay between risk and protective factors that affected educational experiences. Drawing on evidence from the Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education longitudinal study of children in the United Kingdom, the book examined the roles that people and experiences (at home, in schools, and in the wider community) played in children's learning, how these factors affected their achievement, and the explanations and meanings given by respondents to aspects of their lives.
Source: Iram Siraj and Aziza Mayo, Social Class and Educational Inequality: The impact of parents and schools, Cambridge University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2014-Aug
A think-tank report examined the performance of disadvantaged students (those entitled to the pupil premium) in sponsored academies in 31 chains from 2011-2013. It said that there was significant variation in outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, both between and within chains, and that chains differed significantly in attainment against different measures. The report said that the analysis had found that some sponsored chains were raising attainment significantly but, when analyzed against a range of indicators, a majority of the chains still underperformed the mainstream average on attainment for their disadvantaged pupils and, while some were continuing to improve, others were not.
Source: Merryn Hutchings, Becky Francis, and Robert De Vries, Chain Effects: The impact of academy chains on low income students, Sutton Trust
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release | ATL press release
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined the national contexts that determined the educational situation of migrants, drawing on data from five European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom).
Source: Steffen Hillmert, 'Links between immigration and social inequality in education: a comparison among five European countries', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Volume 32
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jul
A report examined library provision in English schools and called for every school to provide library facilities that were fit for purpose.
Source: The Beating Heart of the School: Improving educational attainment through school libraries and librarians, Libraries All Party Parliamentary Group
Links: Report | CILIP press release
Date: 2014-Jul
The government began consultation on proposals to make changes to the School Admissions Code to: allow priority for children eligible for pupil premium or service premium funding; change the consultation arrangements for local admission authorities; require admission authorities to amend unlawful admission arrangements to comply with the Code within two months of a decision of the Schools Adjudicator; clarify the provisions relating to the admission of summer born children to aid decision-making; and make clear that the highest priority for admission applied to all children who were adopted from local authority care.
Source: Changes to the School Admissions Code, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | Draft code | BBC report
Date: 2014-Jul
A think-tank report examined the earnings premium that derived from attending independent schools and the factors that contributed to it. It also evaluated a proposed policy (the Sutton Trust's Open Access scheme) to improve access into independent schools for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds, based on academic ability.
Source: Nida Broughton, Onyinye Ezeyi, Claudia Hupkau, Nigel Keohane, and Ryan Shorthouse, Open Access: An independent evaluation, Social Market Foundation
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined the admissions criteria used by the first two waves of secondary free schools in England, and their potential impact on the schools' composition. It said that the criteria used were diverse and, although the admissions policies of the majority of schools appeared to be adhering to the 2012 Admissions Code legislation, the analysis had highlighted the influence that such criteria might have in creating imbalances of socio-economic status, ethnicity, or religious affiliation within schools.
Source: Rebecca Morris, 'The admissions criteria of secondary Free Schools', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 40 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined the reasons for the apparent decline in Welsh admissions to Oxford and Cambridge universities, and considered ways to increase the number of successful applications in the future. The report presented recommendations, including for the development of a network of twelve hubs of expertise across Wales and the promotion of collaborative working between schools and colleges.
Source: Final Report of the Oxbridge Ambassador for Wales, Welsh Government
Links: Report | Welsh Government press release | University of Cambridge press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined the educational trajectories of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. It said children in this group were far less likely to become 'high achievers' at any stage, and that any early promise shown by higher achieving students could be lost as they progressed through school, particularly at secondary school level. The report said that the period between ages 11 and 16 was therefore a key time for intervention by policymakers. The report also discussed choice of university and said that the system must provide potential applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds with advice, in order to encourage greater numbers of applications to elite institutions.
Source: Claire Crawford, Lindsey Macmillan, and Anna Vignoles, Progress Made by High-Attaining Children from Disadvantaged Backgrounds, Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission
Links: Report | SMCPC press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined the extent to which higher education (HE) participation and subsequent degree outcomes varied by school, and the reasons for any differences. It said that there were substantial differences in HE participation rates overall, with pupils attending selective state schools more than 40 percentage points more likely to go to university and over 30 percentage points more likely to go to a high-status institution than pupils attending non-selective state schools. It said that there were also large differences in university outcomes by school, with fewer drop outs and greater likelihood to graduate with a first or a 2:1 for pupils from non-selective state schools, as compared with peers with similar background characteristics from other schools. The report considered the implications for widening participation activities and university selection procedures.
Source: Claire Crawford, The Link between Secondary School Characteristics and University Participation and Outcomes, Research Report DFE-RR353, Department for Education
Links: Report | IFS summary | Russell Group press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined reasons why disadvantaged pupils performed better in inner London than in other regions (often referred to as the 'London effect'). It said there were three key lessons for policymakers in seeking to narrow the achievement gaps: that early achievement in primary schools was important, particularly in English, and that this was consistent with a case for early intervention, although secondary schools also had a role in keeping students on track; that any improvements would take a long time to become visible in national results; and that recent improvements should be attributed to policies much further back in time, such as the national strategies of the late 1990s and early 2000s, rather than from recent policy initiatives such as the London Challenge or the Academies Programme.
Source: Ellen Greaves, Lindsey Macmillan, and Luke Sibieta, Lessons from London Schools for Attainment Gaps and Social Mobility, Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission
Links: Report | Tables and figures | Commission press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that educational underachievement among white working class children was 'real and persistent', with gaps visible at age five and widening as children got older. The report said that white children who were eligible for free school meals were consistently the lowest performing group in the country, and the difference between their educational performance and that of their less deprived white peers was larger than for any other ethnic group. The report welcomed policies such as the pupil premium, but said that schools needed to work together to address problems in their local context, and should be encouraged to share good practice. It said that the department should maintain its focus on employing the best teachers in areas of greatest need, and should consider what incentives might drive teachers' decisions on where they would work.
Source: Underachievement in Education by White Working Class Children, First Report (Session 2014–15), HC 142, House of Commons Education Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | ATL press release | CofE press release | Green Party press release | NAHT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jun
A report evaluated the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, which was introduced in September 2011 to provide financial support to young people who faced significant financial barriers to participation in education or training post-16. It said that the flexibility of the fund was welcomed, and that providers valued being able to use funds in the way they thought would best meet the needs of students. However, it said that many young people were not aware of the fund when making post-16 choices, and there were still some unresolved administrative problems. The report made a range of recommendations for the government and education providers.
Source: Meg Callanan, Emma Drever, Alexandra Fry, Gemma Lewis, Cheryl Lloyd, and Ivonne Wollny, The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund: Year 2 process evaluation, Research Report 345, Department for Education
Links: Report | Brief | Earlier reports
Date: 2014-May
A special issue of a journal examined gender and educational achievement, presenting papers from across Europe that utilized a range of methodological approaches from different disciplinary backgrounds.
Source: Educational Research, Volume 56 Number 2
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Ruth Watts, 'Females in science: a contradictory concept?'
Gabrielle Ivinson, 'How gender became sex: mapping the gendered effects of sex-group categorisation onto pedagogy, policy and practice'
Birgit Spinath, Christine Eckert, and Ricarda Steinmayr, 'Gender differences in school success: what are the roles of students' intelligence, personality and motivation?'
Date: 2014-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that only 19 per cent of projected secondary school places in the free schools opened so far were in areas that had forecast a high or severe need for extra places. The committee recommended greater openness in decision-making about free schools, raised concerns over standards of governance in some cases, and said there was a need for improvements in monitoring procedures and for tighter control of costs.
Source: Establishing Free Schools, Fifty-sixth Report (Session 2013–14), HC 941, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-May
A report examined the nature and consequences of the educational outcomes of children from low-income households in Scotland, relative to children from high-income households. It said that the gap was already evident by age 5, and that lower attainment in literacy and numeracy was linked to deprivation throughout primary school. The authors had found that, although overall attainment at age 16 had risen, a significant and persistent gap remained between groups, and children from deprived households were more likely to leave school earlier and without qualifications. The report said that the attainment gap could be reduced by a number of evidenced measures, including: high-quality, pre-school education; whole-school reforms based on timely, relevant data; and closer partnerships between home and schools. The report concluded that guidance on reducing the impact of poverty on attainment should be explicitly included when developing policy on curriculum and inspection. It called for a national evidence base of 'what works', and for professional development in how to use evidence in curriculum design, resource allocation, and practice monitoring and evaluation.
Source: Edward Sosu and Sue Ellis, Closing the Attainment Gap in Scottish Education, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Summary | JRF press release | University of Strathclyde press release
Date: 2014-May
A report said that parenting interventions could be successful in improving children's conduct and literacy, both in the short and longer term. Drawing on a study of interventions with 7 to 9 year old children, it said that improvements in behaviour and reading ability were seen regardless of prior factors such as level of parental education, parental mental health, and whether children lived in a one or two parent household.
Source: Stephen Scott, Kathy Sylva, Angeliki Kallitsoglou, and Tamsin Ford, Which Type of Parenting Programme Best Improves Child Behaviour and Reading? Follow-up of the Helping Children Achieve trial, Nuffield Foundation
Links: Report | Nuffield Foundation press release
Date: 2014-May
A paper examined the impact on earnings inequality of a selective education system, comparing the differences in outcomes between two systems where one allocated pupils to schools based on ability (selective) and one allocated pupils based on proximity. It said that the wage distribution for individuals who grew up in selective schooling areas in England was quantitatively and statistically significantly more unequal.
Source: Simon Burgess, Matt Dickson, and Lindsey Macmillan, Selective Schooling Systems Increase Inequality, Centre for Market and Public Organisation (University of Bristol)
Links: Paper | University of Bath press release
Date: 2014-May
A report examined the day to day experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) students in higher education, their access to services, and factors that influenced their academic success and the completion of their studies. It said that: 20 per cent had experienced at least one form of bullying or harassment on campus (this rose to one third in the case of trans students); few trans students felt completely safe on campus; and 25 per cent of heterosexual students had seriously considered dropping out of their course, compared with 27.7 per cent of gay, 26.6 per cent of lesbian, 30 per cent of bisexual students, and over half of trans respondents. The authors called for the enforcement of zero tolerance policies on campus regarding homophobic and transphobic behaviour, harassment, and bullying. The report also recommended more staff training on LGBT issues, more peer to peer support, and improved access to information and services on campus for LGBT students.
Source: Education Beyond the Straight and Narrow: LGBT students' experience in higher education, National Union of Students
Links: Report | NUS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-May
A paper examined new estimates of intergenerational mobility. It concluded that educational inequality had declined for cohorts born after 1980, and that this was associated with rising average educational achievement, but evidence on high attainment did not indicate that educational inequality had declined.
Source: Jo Blanden and Lindsey Macmillan, Education and Intergenerational Mobility: Help or hindrance?, CASE WP 8, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined young people's perspectives about the cost of going to school. Key findings included: that some subjects cost more to study as they required extra materials; 27 per cent of students on free school meals (FSM) chose not to study arts or music due to the associated costs; the price of food left many young people going hungry during the school day; school trips were prohibitively expensive, such that 57 per cent of low-income students and 28 per cent of better-off students had missed at least one trip; cost prevented some students from having a full school uniform, or books and other equipment for study; 9 per cent of young people did not have access to a computer at home, or were denied internet access; and costs of after school clubs and other activities, or the cost of associated transport, was prohibitive for 19 per cent of young people on FSM, 12 per cent of young people from low-income families, and 19 per cent of young people from better-off households.
Source: Rys Farthing, The Costs of Going to School, from Young People's Perspectives, British Youth Council/Child Poverty Action Group/Kids Company/National Union of Teachers
Links: Report | NUT press release
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined young people's perspectives about the cost of going to school. Key findings included: that some subjects cost more to study as they required extra materials; 27 per cent of students on free school meals (FSM) chose not to study arts or music due to the associated costs; the price of food left many young people going hungry during the school day; school trips were prohibitively expensive, such that 57 per cent of low-income students and 28 per cent of better-off students had missed at least one trip; cost prevented some students from having a full school uniform, or books and other equipment for study; 9 per cent of young people did not have access to a computer at home, or were denied internet access; and costs of after school clubs and other activities, or the cost of associated transport, was prohibitive for 19 per cent of young people on FSM, 12 per cent of young people from low-income families, and 19 per cent of young people from better-off households.
Source: Rys Farthing, The Costs of Going to School, from Young People's Perspectives, British Youth Council/Child Poverty Action Group/Kids Company/National Union of Teachers
Links: Report | NUT press release
Date: 2014-Apr
The children's watchdog for England said that while it was not possible to identify definitively whether schools in England used the admissions system to manipulate their intake, some parents (particularly parents of children with special educational needs) were put off from applying for places at particular schools, and some very similar schools in neighbouring areas had very different intakes. The report recommended a range of actions, including to give powers to the Local Government Ombudsman to examine admissions appeals for state funded schools, for admission arrangements to be checked in light of the public sector equality duty, and for further research to examine the nature and scale of inequalities in admissions outcomes. A separate report outlined a small scale study, used to inform the Commissioner's investigation, on the experiences of parents and carers of vulnerable children (defined as those with special educational needs, from minority-ethnic groups, with English as an additional language, from families on a low income, or who had been excluded from primary school).
Source 1: "It Might Be Best If You Looked Elsewhere": An investigation into the schools admission process, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report | OCC press release
Source 2: Kerry Martin, Richard White, and Fiona Walker, The School Admissions Process: Experiences of parents and carers of children from vulnerable groups, National Foundation for Educational Research
Date: 2014-Apr
A national strategy for access and student success in United Kingdom higher education (commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) was published. It said that the strategy aimed to build on existing good practice to create a more coherent, collaborative, and co-ordinated approach, driven by evidence and adopting a whole student lifecycle approach.
Source: Office for Fair Access and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, National Strategy for Access and Student Success in Higher Education, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | Ministerial speech | HEFCE press release | OFFA press release | University of Derby press release
Date: 2014-Apr
An article examined the views of Traveller children and parents on primary level education in Northern Ireland, and the level of support for the children within the education system.
Source: Fiona Bloomer, Jennifer Hamilton, and Michael Potter, 'Challenges and barriers in primary school education: the experiences of Traveller children and young people in Northern Ireland', Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, Volume 9 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
A report examined the extent to which a student's background affected their chance of obtaining an upper second or first class degree. It said that, when comparing students with similar prior educational attainment, the findings included: that there was significant variation in degree outcomes for students from different ethnicities; that female students were more likely to achieve higher degree classifications; that students from disadvantaged areas tended to do less well than those from more advantaged areas; and that state school students tended to do better than students from independent schools.
Source: Differences in Degree Outcomes: Key findings, Higher Education Funding Council for England
Links: Report | HEFCE press release | OFFA press release | Russell Group press release | Sutton Trust press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Mar
The government began consultation on proposals to allocate an additional £350m to schools in 2015-16, to increase the per-pupil budgets for the some local areas and set a minimum funding level. The consultation invited views on how to set the minimum funding levels, and how to distribute the additional funding. The consultation would close on 30 April 2014.
Source: Fairer Schools Funding in 2015-16, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | Ministerial statement
Date: 2014-Mar
A report evaluated the construction of the Participation of Local Areas (POLAR3) classification, a United Kingdom-wide area-based measure that grouped geographical areas according to the proportion of young people living in them who participated in higher education by the age of 19 (known as the 'young participation rate'). It examined how the classification related to other forms of deprivation affecting young people, and how the characteristics of 2011-12 higher education entrants from different POLAR3 quintiles varied. The report said that, although concerns had been raised about the level of measurement, wards were a suitable geography on which to base the measure. However, the POLAR3 classification captured a particular type of (educational) disadvantage, and the report noted that it was therefore not necessarily an appropriate substitute for other measures of disadvantage.
Source: Further Information on POLAR3: An analysis of geography, disadvantage and entrants to higher education, Issues paper 2014/01, Higher Education Funding Council for England
Links: Report | Summary | HEFCE press release
Date: 2014-Feb
A study examined secondary schools' admissions criteria and practices in England in 2012-13 and the use of pupil banding as part of the Year 7 admissions process. The report said that the growth in the number of sponsored academies had not led to a corresponding increase in the use of selective oversubscription criteria. It said that distance and sibling criteria were the predominant oversubscription criteria for non-selective state schools, but the number of schools using banding had increased from 95 in 2008 to 121 in 2012. The Sutton Trust recommended that more schools, particularly in urban areas, should introduce random allocation (ballots) or banding to widen the mix of pupils with access to the most academically successful comprehensives.
Source: Philip Noden, Anne West, and Audrey Hind, Banding and Ballots: Secondary school admissions in England – admissions in 2012/13 and the impact of growth of Academies, Sutton Trust/London School of Economics
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined the relationship between social class and attainment in the early years of schooling, drawing on the Millennium Cohort Study. It investigated the extent to which social class inequalities in early cognitive scores could be accounted for by parental education, income, family social resources, and parental behaviours. Social class remained an important concept for both researchers and policy-makers, and the link between structural inequalities and inequalities in children's cognitive scores could not be readily accounted for in terms of individual parenting behaviours.
Source: Alice Sullivan, Sosthenes Ketende, and Heather Joshi, 'Social class and inequalities in early cognitive scores', Sociology, Volume 47 Issue 6
Links: Abstract | CLS press release
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined the role of specific national contexts in determining the educational situation of migrants in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In all the countries, a major part of the relative disadvantage could be explained by the social composition of migrants in combination with general patterns of social inequality in education: but in some cases significant differences remained even when controlling for such group differences.
Source: Steffen Hillmert, 'Links between immigration and social inequality in education: a comparison among five European countries', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Volume 32
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
An article said that educational expansion in Europe had enhanced inequality of opportunity for tertiary education among cohorts born in the 1950s and 1970s, and enhanced inequality of opportunity at the secondary level for the cohort of the 1970s. Privileged social strata were better poised to benefit from educational expansion than lower strata. Expansion was not necessarily an effective tool for the reduction of inequality of educational opportunity.
Source: Eyal Bar Haim and Yossi Shavit, 'Expansion and inequality of educational opportunity: a comparative study', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Volume 31
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
A study examined the strategies used to raise aspirations for higher education among high achieving disadvantaged pupils, areas of good practice and where practice might be improved, and whether the pupil premium was being used to fund such activity. The report said that there was wide support in schools and colleges for raising aspirations, but that the study found a range of approaches and varied methods of defining disadvantage. It noted a lack of activity at Key Stage 3 (age 11-16), and low levels of evaluation and monitoring in around half of the institutions. The report made recommendations.
Source: Alex Thornton, Emily Pickering, Mark Peters, Carole Leathwood, Sumi Hollingworth, and Ayodele Mansaray, School and College-level Strategies to Raise Aspirations of High-achieving Disadvantaged Pupils to Pursue Higher Education Investigation: Research report, Research Report 296, Department for Education
Date: 2014-Feb
A paper examined the long run impact of attending an elite school in the United Kingdom, drawing on data for children born in the 1950s and educated in Aberdeen, Scotland. It said that, for women, elite school attendance increased the probability of gaining A-levels by 23 percentage points, significantly increased income and wages (by 20 percent and 10 percent respectively) and significantly decreased completed fertility (by around 0.5 children). The paper said that, for men, elite school attendance had no effect on income, wages, fertility, or marriage. The paper noted implications for policy.
Source: Damon Clark and Emilia Del Bono, The Long-Run Effects of Attending an Elite School: Evidence from the UK, Working Paper 2014-05, Institute for Social & Economic Research (University of Essex)
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Feb
The government began consultation on its proposed child poverty strategy for 2014-17. The paper said that good progress had been made to date and that the government remained committed to the target of ending child poverty in the United Kingdom by 2020. It said that actions would be taken to address the root causes of poverty and set out aims to: support families into work and to increase their earnings; improve living standards and reduce living costs; and raise educational attainment. It said that employers, local agencies, and the devolved administrations would have a part to play in achieving the aims of the strategy. The government also published an evidence review alongside the strategy, which examined the causes of poverty and the barriers faced by families in improving their position. The consultation would close on 22 May 2014.
Source 1: Consultation on the Child Poverty Strategy 2014-17, Cm 8782, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Consultation document | DWP press release | 4Children press release | Childrens Society press release | Citizens Advice press release | CSAN press release | Gingerbread press release | JRF press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Source 2: An Evidence Review of the Drivers of Child Poverty for Families in Poverty Now and for Poor Children Growing Up to Be Poor Adults, Cm 8781, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Report | DWP press release
Date: 2014-Feb
A report examined the inequalities in access to, and outcomes from, state and independent schools in Britain. It outlined the nature of the inequalities, the efforts of governments, over time, to address them, and a range of evidence from other countries. It said that, within the state sector, middle class parents had gained privileged access to the best performing schools. The report made four proposals: that state schools should emulate the best features of independent schools; that independent schools should form links with state schools; that there should be state-subsidized places made available at independent schools; and that places at popular state schools should be means-tested, with parents who earned over £80,000 per annum paying fees on a rising scale.
Source: Anthony Seldon, Schools United: Ending the divide between independent and state, Social Market Foundation
Links: Report | SMF press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Jan
A new book provided a systematic review of how sociologists had studied the relationship between race/ethnicity and educational inequality in 18 different national contexts (including England).
Source: Peter Stevens and Gary Dworkin (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Race and Ethnic Inequalities in Education, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2014-Jan
