The ladder
Today, I’d like to explain why access to quality education is about social justice, how we can improve the current system, and why doing this will benefit all of us.
I’ll do this by talking about the educational ladder of opportunity.
Rung 1: identifying social injustice
Access to quality education is a social justice issue.
Without it, people find it hard to develop the knowledge and skills required to succeed in life. And, it is the most disadvantaged members of our society who are more likely to lack quality options.
If we are to unlock opportunity, the first step is to identify what these social injustices are.
The first few years of a child’s life, including their pre-school experiences, are crucial to their prospects. But only 54% of children eligible for free school meals reach a good level of development by the age of five (compared with 72% of their better off counterparts).
Disadvantaged pupils perform a lot worse at school. Just 33% of pupils on free school meals get five good GCSEs (including English and maths) compared with 61% of their better off peers.
Geography shapes prospects. A child living in one of England’s poorest areas is 27 times more likely to go to an inadequate school than a child living in its richest areas.
Children who are taught in alternative settings, rather than in mainstream education, have terrible prospects. Just 1.3 per cent of this group get five good GCSEs.
The quality of technical education needs parity of esteem with our academic offering, otherwise many pupils do not get the skills to thrive in the labour market.
Disadvantaged students are less likely to go to prestigious universities than better off ones. They are also more likely to get lower grades, and more likely to drop out.
Rung 2: broadening access to quality provision
Once we have identified where social injustices lie, we must make sure that all people, regardless of background, have access to quality education.
But what does quality look like? A less complex system of childcare subsidies so that families claim the support that is available to them. And affordable and quality childcare in the most disadvantaged areas.
Better performance in our worst schools. A system that encourages our best leaders, teachers and multi-academy trusts to take on failing schools. And stronger engagement with employers.
A system of alternative education that encourages early intervention, better decision-making about appropriate provision, and transparency of outcomes.
A technical route that rivals the strong reputation enjoyed by its academic cousin, and one that is marketed well and has such prestige that pupils understand their options. Careers guidance should be dedicated towards skills and schools and skills go hand-in-hand.
A system of higher education that is open to all and empowers people to make informed decisions about the return they are likely to get on their investments.
To be clear, the government has made great strides of progress in improving education in recent years. For example:
It has announced 12 opportunity areas, which will channel £72 million into some of the poorest areas in the country to build teaching capacity, boost technical options and work with employers to improve careers advice.
Under its watch, the proportion of good and outstanding primary schools has risen from 69% to 90% in the last five years.
It has overseen a major overhaul of the apprenticeships system, which will ensure that funding is doubled by 2020 from 2010 levels, to £2.5 billion, and that employers have a stronger say in how they are run. We know that over 90% of apprentices go into work or further training, and this investment will boost productivity and broaden our skills base.
But, as the figures I outlined earlier clearly show, there is still much more to do.
Rung 3: offering suitable provision
To maximise social mobility, we must do more than deliver quality education; pupils also need the right type of education to prepare them for the world of work.
As things stand, our workforce struggles to meet the skills demands of our economy.
In December 2015, nearly a third of workers did not hold suitable qualifications for the jobs they were doing.
Basic skills are inadequate. More than a quarter (around nine million) of all working aged adults in England have low literacy and/or numeracy skills.
There are skills shortages in many sectors. In 2015, areas with the highest proportion of vacancies affected by skill shortages included electricity, gas and water; construction; transport and communications; and manufacturing.
To improve people’s prospects, education needs to build relevant and high value skills. This is particularly important in an increasingly competitive global skills race.
Here are some of the things we need to look at if we want to offer the right type of education.
Technical education needs to be overhauled, so that it produces a much smaller number of prestigious qualifications that employers recognise and value. Employers should have a strong voice in determining what these qualifications look like, and qualifications should meet skills shortages.
Further education colleges are key players when it comes to delivering technical education. But, we need to find better ways to support them.
There is no point in creating new opportunities if people do not know they exist, or how to access them. Sound careers advice is key, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have less social capital. The number of pupils who received careers advice or work experience fell dramatically in the last twenty years and the quality on offer is too often inadequate.
Adults, too, must be able to retrain and upskill throughout their careers. Currently, we do too little to support this and employers should also be encouraged to offer professional training.
The government’s post-16 skills plan does an important job of addressing some of these issues, but we will need to ensure that each and every step of that plan is executed well to build on its successes.
Rung 4: unlocking jobs, security and individual prosperity
By identifying where poor access to quality education exists (rung 1), addressing those challenges by offering quality education (rung 2), and making sure that we offer the right type of education (rung 3) we give individuals every chance of building secure and prosperous lives.
There is a real need to realise each of these steps, as many people do not have skills and jobs that provide them with security or prosperity.
Many are trapped in low-skill, low-pay jobs. (One in five working adults is on low pay.)
People on low pay are more likely to lose their jobs and experience depression.
16.8 million people in our working population have less than £100 in savings.
On current trends, just one in eight children from low-income families has a realistic shot at becoming a high income earner later in life.
Rung 5: building a better society
But it is not just individuals who gain by improving access to quality education. By giving individuals the tools to succeed in life, we also build a stronger society.
By providing people with the chance to develop high-value skills that are in demand, we will build a thriving economy that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.
This means we can boost productivity, drive wage growth and raise our living standards.
It also means fewer people will need to rely on state support, which will free up funds for investment in public services and enterprise.
It means that more people can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in deprived areas and replace it with a virtuous cycle of good quality education and strong local employment.
And it means that more individuals will feel positive about the society in which they live.
2 Three areas of focus
In the years ahead, the Education Select Committee will play its part in shaping an education system that works for all.
In the short term, we will do so by focusing on three themes. 2.1 Alternative provision
Children who fall out of mainstream education do so for a range of complex reasons, ranging from special educational needs, to severe behavioural disorders (often caused by severely challenging circumstances at home) and physical illness.
These children have truly awful prospects. Just 1.3 per cent of this group get five good GCSEs.
While some providers do an excellent job in very testing conditions, the system is broken.
We need to ensure that alternative provision is not used as a dumping ground. Where possible, schools should be supported to intervene early and when alternative education is appropriate, decisions about where to send children should be well thought through. If children require alternative education, provision should be suitable for their particluar needs. And the outcomes of children who spend time in alternative provision should be transparent.
In our inquiry, we will look at all these issues and more.
2.2 Quality apprenticeships
The government has transformed the way that apprenticeships are funded, which will double our investment in this crucial area of education. And sensibly, it is giving employers a much stronger say in how they are designed and delivered.
We need to monitor these new measures to ensure that the apprenticeships they generate are high in quality. According to the latest figures, the number of good or outstanding apprenticeship programmes has improved by 12%. But 37% of programmes are still less than good, which means that 90,000 apprentices are receiving a poor deal. Apprenticeships should be set up in sectors that suffer from a shortfall of relevant skills. And we must make sure that sub-contracted apprenticeships are subjected to proper checks and balances.
That is why we have decided to take a closer look at the quality of apprenticeships, and in the coming months the committee will be publishing a report that outlines our concerns and recommendations.
2.3 Value for money in higher education
More disadvantaged students are going to university than ever before. But outcomes are still not as good as they should be. Affluent students are still 3.6 times more likely to attend Russell Group universities than students who were eligible for free school meals at school. And employment rates, and salaries, vary according to university and degree type.
University should be an option for all, regardless of background. But potential applicants need to know whether they will be getting a good return on their investment. For this to happen, we need to improve the quality and transparency of data on graduate outcomes.
We also need to understand why poorer students are dropping out at a higher rate than other students. And we must take another look at the debts students incur, so that people feel they are getting on in life and not trudging through the mud when they pay back their loans.
By reviewing these three areas, and others to come, we want to embed social justice in our education system.
We know that quality education is one of the most effective pathways out of poverty. But disadvantaged people still do not have the same access to this as their more fortunate peers.
I want us to help build the ladder of opportunity that I have described today. I want to be able to say with confidence that all people, no matter what their backgrounds, will have a genuine shot at improving their lives.
And if we build a ladder that is sturdy enough, we will all be better off.
