Speaking at today’s launch event at UCL’s Institute of Health Equity Dr Angela Donkin, Chief Social Scientist at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), will talk about inequalities in educational attainment:
“Education can help break the link between a child’s social background and their later outcomes in life.
“Disadvantaged students in England currently demonstrate higher levels of academic achievement compared to the average in other OECD countries, yet persistent inequalities in attainment still remain.
“We need to increase our understanding about what enables certain schools and local areas to achieve higher performance and narrow the gap for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. “However, this alone is not enough.
There needs to be a concerted effort across local and central government to widen the lens and consider the impact of other environmental factors, like housing and income, on variations in educational attainment.
“Putting the onus solely on schools to close the gap will not achieve the change that is required – we need to adopt a holistic approach.”
For more information: Richard Faulkner, Head of Communications at NFER
[email protected] / 01753 637366