Lucy Powell said too many white working-class children are falling behind at every stage of their education as the white working-class educational inquiry moved into a new phase. The inquiry, which has published its first report, says action from across society is needed to improve outcomes for children in England.
The review examined education data on 1.25 million young people in England who are white British and in receipt of free school meals. It also spoke to thousands of young people and their parents, along with hundreds of teachers, before concluding this summer that once-in-a-generation reforms are needed to fix a system not serving white working-class children.
Baroness Morris on next phase
Baroness Morris, who co-chairs the Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes, said the next phase will consider what needs to be done. She said, “This isn't just the responsibility of schools but calls for action from across society,” as the inquiry shifted from diagnosis to practical recommendations.
The new phase will focus on early years children and teenagers aged 14 to 19. It will develop practical recommendations for government, schools, colleges and other organisations working with white working-class communities, and it will study the routes taken by teenagers aged 14 to 19 so schools can help build clearer pathways into further study and successful employment.
Department for Education support
Lucy Powell said, “Right now, too many white working-class children are falling behind at every stage of their education,” and added, “That is why I am backing this independent inquiry to get to the heart of the barriers holding children back - from their first steps into school, through to the opportunities and choices they have as teenagers into further study, training or work.” The inquiry is commissioned by Star Academies and supported by the Department for Education.
The inquiry’s data work gives it a wide sample, but it also leaves out low-income families who were not on free school meals. The inquiry says the true scale of white working-class disadvantage is likely to be substantially larger, and that gap now matters because all families receiving Universal Credit have become eligible for free school meals since the summer, changing who is counted in future analysis.
White Working Class Educational Outcomes
The inquiry found a growing belief among white working-class families that the current education system does not guarantee future success. That is the problem the next phase is meant to tackle: not another general review, but practical work on the early years and the teenage years where support can be turned into routes through school and into work.
Andy Burnham announced plans over the summer to open up new technical routes from age 14 in England, and the inquiry’s next phase moves in the same direction by examining how schools can work with communities to provide clearer pathways. For families, the immediate change is that the inquiry is no longer just describing the problem; it is building the recommendations that will be handed to the bodies expected to act.
