Schools North East Partner Trust CEO gives evidence at Education Select Committee
The House of Commons Education Select Committee took evidence on Tuesday from school leaders for its inquiry into left behind white pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The witnesses represented schools and trusts from across the country, including Nick Hurn, CEO of the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust in the North East and a Schools North East Partner Trust.
Robert Halfon MP, chair of the committee, opened the session by asking why it is that white working class students are falling behind other ethnic groups. Nick Hurn responded first, saying that there is a generational problem with poor attitudes towards education engrained. For many communities that his Trust serves, parents struggle to support children in education and in early years, pointing out that ‘a lot of our children do not come to school with developed language skills, so before they even start they are behind other children.’
As well as the different family attitudes towards education, Nick Hurn also discussed the issues associated with place, saying ‘there are very few good role models and few opportunities for development in industry and commerce’, in comparison to places like London.
The other witnesses agreed with these challenges. Ruth Robinson, Executive Head Teacher at Swindon Academy, noted her experiences previously working in schools in Birmingham with large proportions of children from different ethnic minority groups. She said, regarding the white disadvantaged pupils she now works, that ‘in comparison to children from different ethnic minority groups, sometimes our families lack the support of those extended family structures and the sense of community and religion’, exacerbating the challenges of poverty they already struggle with.
Helena Mills, CEO of BMAT Education went further in explaining why white disadvantaged communities have a poor attitude towards education, saying that there is a problem with pathways as the current education system fails to offer serious options for those students who want to follow a vocational route. Andrew Smith, CEO of Learning Pathways Academy Trust agreed that there are issues around ‘parental experience of school themselves and that negativity’, and ‘aspirations linked to unemployment and place’.
These contextual challenges have been a key focus for Schools North East’s policy work. In our Manifesto for North East Education, published last year, we highlighted the need for a recognition of the regional context that schools in the North East work in. As the school leaders evidenced to the committee, these are issues that go beyond the school gate, and need long-term and joined up policy approaches, which we further recommend in our Manifesto. It is encouraging that the Education Select Committee is listening to those in the education profession, especially at a time when the coronavirus pandemic threatens to exacerbate educational challenges associated with long term disadvantage in particular.