Labour’s recent election campaign was built around five missions, one of which was to break down barriers to opportunity. At the Fair Education Alliance – a cross-sector coalition of nearly 300 organisations tackling inequality in education – we share that goal so that everyone can “enjoy a good life, with a good job and a secure home,” as stated in the mission.
Education must remain central to this effort. We know that investing in education improves nearly every aspect of a child’s future – their employment and wages, their likelihood of avoiding the criminal justice system, their levels of social and political engagement, and even their health outcomes. It is a powerful lever for spreading opportunity equally. As Rishi Sunak, the previous prime minister, said, it is “the closest thing to a silver bullet there is.”
Unfortunately, as we describe in Fair Education in 2024: Priorities for a New Government, a child’s opportunity is increasingly correlated with their socioeconomic background. The gaps between children from low-income households and others are at their highest in a decade in terms of attainment, social and emotional development, skills, post-16 destinations, and access to university. At age five, children from low-income households are, on average, 4.8 months behind their peers; by the time they finish secondary school, this increases to 19 months – almost two school years of learning. They are then less likely to be employed and more likely to be low-income themselves, perpetuating the cycle into the next generation.
Despite the troubling chasm between the potential of education to transform society and the current state of inequality, education has slipped down the priority list in the 23 years since Tony Blair made “education, education, education” a cornerstone of his premiership. We have had seven secretaries of state for education in the last five years, and both school budgets and teacher salaries have lost substantial real-terms value over the past decade. Polling has consistently shown that only about 7 per cent of voters rank education as one of their top three issues.
It is our task to make the case that educational opportunity is crucial to a prosperous society, but also to paint a picture of what a fair education system could look like and how we can get there.
We must consider the entire system, starting from the earliest stage. There are four main areas where we would like to see the Government focus, each requiring patience, thoughtful consideration, and a commitment to collaboration.
Through a strong and well-supported workforce, we can address the underlying issues driving the recruitment and retention crisis in the most challenging schools by making the profession more sustainable and inclusive, and by reviewing how our accountability system acknowledges the complex work being done in these schools.
Secondly, we need a system that prepares every young person to thrive in both work and life. Alongside strong academics, our education system should build essential skills with a universal framework to monitor progress. We should also collect comprehensive data on the wellbeing of young people to inform our efforts. It is essential that, throughout this process, we listen to young people themselves.
Third, ensuring the best early education and care for every child. Whether they spend their early years at home or in a formal setting, every child, including those with special educational needs, deserves the best start in life. We can achieve this through a strategy that strengthens the early years workforce, ensures accessibility and quality everywhere, and builds partnerships with families to support their children’s learning and development at home.
Finally, we need a joined-up system that meets rising needs. Schools cannot achieve access to opportunity alone. We require investment in local collaboration between the services and organisations supporting families, with shared outcomes and a greater focus on early intervention.
These strategic priorities will require time and investment to develop, and voters, the media, and civil society must not demand quick results with minimal long-term impact. The barriers sustaining the problem are significant and complex, and they will take time to shift. However, the government will need to demonstrate progress in its direction of travel along the way.
As it approaches the milestone of its first 100 days in office, we have seen positive first steps. The announcements of a curriculum review, reforms to Ofsted, and a child poverty strategy do not offer immediate sticking-plaster solutions but could each address the underlying problems perpetuating the disadvantage gap. The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will require all schools to cooperate with the local authority on school admissions and SEND inclusion—an important first step toward the system serving local communities.
There have also been policies announced that will address immediate needs, such as free breakfast clubs in every school, expanded nursery provision, mental health practitioners in every school, and specialist early language intervention. These initiatives should provide fast and demonstrable benefits to children and families.
In other areas, the government will need to dig deeper than the headlines it has provided so far. While it has committed to recruiting 6,500 new teachers, it must also address why teachers are leaving the profession, especially in schools with the lowest-income student populations. Additionally, while it has committed to a new child number to link records across education, social care, and wider children’s services, it must facilitate better collaboration among all local services toward shared outcomes for children from birth, rebuilding trust between institutions and families.
We all have a role to play in building lasting solutions for a fairer education system, including the third sector, business, and policy. We need to involve young people directly to fully understand the experiences of those currently in education. The Fair Education Alliance exists to connect different parts of the sector and society to work together toward a fairer education system. With the new government, we must all commit to tackling educational inequality as if it can be solved – because it can.
The Fair Education Alliance, the New Statesman and Teach First will be hosting a conversation with Stephen Morgan MP on “How can Labour put education at the heart of their mission-led government?” at the Labour Party Conference, 23 September, 2pm-2.50pm, Room 2D, ACC Liverpool
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