Improving social mobility must start in early years
Derren Hayes
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States has been portrayed as ultimate confirmation that vast swathes of the western world's population feel left behind by globalisaton and economic policy.
The impact of globalisation in the UK is also a dominant theme in the Social Mobility Commission's annual report published last week. It warns that low- and middle-income families are being held back by a "deep social mobility problem", with parents "running harder and harder, but standing still". State of the Nation: 2016 Social Mobility in Great Britain highlights the widening gap between the poorest and wealthiest in society across a range of life outcomes - including education attainment, job prospects, income level and access to housing. The report reveals that just one in eight children from low-income backgrounds will become a high earner as an adult, while a measly four per cent of doctors come from working class backgrounds.
Such statistics support those who believe that the economic system is serving only a small, disconnected elite. The commission concludes that decisive action is needed by the government to address this. It recommends a raft of measures as part of a 10-year strategy to address the disparities in opportunity and reinvigorate social mobility. The government is switched on to these issues - it hopes an expansion of grammar schools can boost opportunities for bright young people whose parents can't afford private education. But the commission says expanding grammars is a "distraction" that "at worst, risks efforts aimed at narrowing the significant social and geographical divides that bedevil England's school system". It is right - expanding grammar schools would if anything widen the social divide when a far more comprehensive treatment plan is needed.
Grammar schools would help a select few, mainly children of the most sharp-elbowed middle-class parents, when what is needed is energy, innovation and ideas to be focused on improving the educational prospects of all children. Only a long-term vision for the economy and the skills needed for sustained growth can help young people see where they fit in and to carve out successful and rewarding careers.
But work to tackle lack of opportunity must start before a child reaches secondary school and begins thinking about career choices. The fact that children in some deprived areas of the country are developmentally 18 months behind wealthier peers when they start reception class is a reflection of the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. Expanding free childcare to 30 hours a week for all three- and four-year-olds from next September could help narrow this gap, but it is only part of the solution. To make real inroads, parents need to be supported to encourage their children to learn and achieve during difficult times. Intensive, family-based support - delivered in part through children's centres - could help get struggling parents back on track.
In responding to the challenges of globalisation, the UK must adopt policies that will nurture a well-educated and highly-skilled workforce for the future, rather than turning back the clock.