A lack of social mobility in the UK means it could take five generations for children born into the poorest families to rise to jobs paying the average income, according to a new report.
This is slightly longer than average for Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
The OECD report also states that, across developed nations, the disposable income of the richest 10 per cent is now nine and a half times that of the poorest 10 per cent - up from seven times 25 years ago.
“There is nothing inevitable about socioeconomic advantage or disadvantage being passed from one generation to another,” says the report, A Broken Social Elevator?
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This government’s commitment to social mobility and ensuring every young person can fulfil their potential has never been clearer. We are spending £72 million on our Opportunity Areas programme, prioritising resource in areas facing some of the greatest challenges, and in December published a comprehensive social mobility action plan which we are delivering.”
Here are seven of the report’s key findings and recommendations relating to education:
1. ‘Early intervention is key’
The report emphasises the importance of early years education, in breaking the “cycle of disadvantage” and promoting social mobility.
2. The level of UK parents’ education makes a bigger difference than in other countries
Intergenerational mobility in the UK is particularly low, the report finds.
Children whose parents have degrees are far more likely to get degrees themselves.
However, in the UK, 71 per cent of children whose parents have tertiary education get degrees, but only 21 per cent of those whose parents have a low level of education do so.
Both figures are higher than the average for developed countries of 63 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
3. Improving access to high-quality pre-school programmes is essential for low-income children
Pisa [the international rankings of 15-year-olds] results show that those school systems which provide more inclusive access to pre-primary education also have below-average gaps between the performance of disadvantaged pupils and others.
4. Sorting children into different learning ‘tracks’ before the age of 16 considerably reduces mobility.
“There is evidence that the abolition of early tracking and the introduction of comprehensive school systems helped to promote intergenerational mobility in Nordic countries and the UK, primarily by benefiting low-income families,” the report states.
Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s director of education, has said that previous plans to expand grammar schools would be unlikely to improve social mobility. More recent government plans have suggested that grammar schools wanting to expand will have to improve access for disadvantaged pupils.
5. ‘Second-chance programmes’ can help to keep disengaged pupils in education
It is important to try to prevent students leaving school early and to reach out quickly to students who are disengaged.
For those who have dropped out, “second-chance” programmes, which offer a flexible learning environment for school leavers outside mainstream schools are useful.
6. Schools in disadvantaged areas tend to have less-experienced teachers.
The report suggests that, in order to attract more experienced teachers into these schools, stronger incentives are needed. These could include attractive pay and support for professional development.
7. More support is needed for pupils transitioning into work.
Difficult school-to-work transitions contribute to lower inter-generational mobility, the report says.
The report points out that even disadvantaged students who do well in school may face difficulties obtaining good jobs due to a lack of networks or information. Improving careers advice and mentoring can help.
