SCHOOLS NorthEast welcomes new Social Mobility Action Plan
SCHOOLS NorthEast welcomed the Department for Education’s new Social Mobility Plan, ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential‘, and the four ‘ambitions’ outlined by the Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening.
However, the charity has called on the Government to do more to support social mobility in the North East after the Education Secretary’s admission last month that the region should be part of the Opportunity Areas initiative.
Ms Greening said social mobility has “characterised (my) own life”.
She set out four ambitions in the plan:
- Close the ‘word gap’ in the early years.
- Close the attainment gap in school while continuing to raise standards for all.
- High quality post-16 education choices for all young people.
- Everyone achieving their full potential in rewarding careers.
In her keynote speech at the Reform Think Tank in London on Thursday, Ms Greening voiced her concerned on the most disadvantaged children in our society, and that they “don’t arrive at school prepared to face the years ahead compared to other children.
“It is not acceptable that their life chances are so much worse than their peers.”
Mike Parker, Director of SCHOOLS NorthEast said: “We welcome the DfE’s Social Mobility Plan. We particularly back the ambition to ‘close the word gap’ in early years as all evidence shows that learning vocabulary in a child’s early years has a lifelong impact on their education.
“The tone of the launch was also right. The Education Secretary called on all sectors of society to collectively work alongside schools in ensuring children get the best start in life and can enjoy a high quality education. This echoes what SCHOOLS NorthEast has said for some time that everyone has a role to play in supporting children in this region to get the best start in life.”
Mr Parker added that SCHOOLS NorthEast will continue to push the Government to do more to stimulate social mobility in the North East. The action plan included a pledge to widen the benefits of Opportunity Areas, a £72m initiative which currently does not include any areas in the North East.
He said: “The Education Secretary has admitted that the North East should be included in the Opportunity Areas project which not only attracts direct support and funding but also is a magnet for all the other initiatives and interventions the DfE is delivering including school improvement funding.
“Our expectation is that the DfE should use this social mobility action plan to bring targeted support to the North East. If they choose not to, they are failing the children of our region.”
The Plan also outlines how it will attract high quality teachers to disadvantaged areas and enhancing Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
Mike Parker said: “It is important that teachers feel valued and that they have clear careers paths set out at the start of their teaching life.
“We acknowledge that the Government is working to attract high quality teachers to disadvantaged areas and SCHOOLS NorthEast is supporting the DfE to develop this.”
A significant part of the new plan focuses on the training of a skilled workforce for a post-Brexit Britain, with the introduction of more provision for post-16 education choices, particularly with the introduction of ‘T-Level’ for technical qualifications. There will also be a focus on linking up with more businesses across the country to equip pupils with the skills and knowledge they need to not only have a job, but have a career.
Ms Greening said: “You can’t aim for opportunity if you don’t know it exists. Our country needs a skills revolution.
“It’s more than just going into work – it’s a career, not a job. We need to inspire, incentivise and insist that businesses reach out to those areas that need them the most.”
Read the full Social Mobility Plan here.