The education system in England is 'not set up to serve white working-class children and families', an independent inquiry has concluded, calling for once-in-a-generation reforms to tackle a crisis in underachievement.
The year-long review, commissioned by the multi-academy trust Star Academies and supported by the Department for Education, found that white working-class children are the lowest-performing large demographic in the school system. They are about half as likely as their less disadvantaged peers to get GCSEs in maths and English, the inquiry heard.
“Inquiry finds white working-class children are lowest-performing large demographic in England's schools.”
Speaking to thousands of young people and their parents, as well as hundreds of teachers, the inquiry concluded that responsibility 'cannot sit with schools alone', said co-chair Baroness Morris, the former education secretary under Tony Blair. She said none of the initiatives rolled out in the past 30 years had significantly boosted their performance, and that there was a growing belief among families that education does not guarantee future success.
The report makes sweeping recommendations, including expanding apprenticeships so that all young people who want one can access a high-quality local option, free public transport for under-21s, and extending 30 hours of free childcare to all disadvantaged families, not just those in work. It also calls for restrictions on smartphone use in schools, improved mental health support, and making reading fluency at primary school a national priority for white working-class children.
High-performing schools should be encouraged to admit more white working-class pupils within existing admissions rules, the inquiry said, and should engage earlier with families to help them navigate the process.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson welcomed the report, saying: 'The communities in this report are my communities. I know what they've given this country and what this country has failed to give back. White working-class children have never lacked talent. But they've been written off as generation after generation have been robbed of opportunity.'
However, the Sutton Trust warned against setting one disadvantaged group against another. Its chief executive, Nick Harrison, said: 'Ultimately, this isn't about ethnicity in isolation. It's about the interaction between ethnicity and income.'