The Social Mobility Commission, chaired by The Rt. Hon. Alan Milburn, has recently published their report, Time For Change: An Assessment of Government Policies on Social Mobility 1997-2017.
The Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body established under the Life Chances Act 2010 as modified by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. It has a duty to assess progress in improving social mobility in the UK and to promote social mobility in England. The report is a comprehensive study over the past 20 years of outcomes over different life stages: early years, primary and secondary schooling, training or FE/HE study and into the world of work.
Graphs and rag ratings enabled progress to be tracked with analysis included. As a study that covers 2 decades, this can look beyond short term political arguments and consider areas where progress has been made such as the narrowing of gaps in end of key stage 1 and 2 outcomes and areas where there has been little change such as the marked social differences at GCSE.
Schools Week has identified some of the key message in an analysis of the report, particularly those associated with secondary pupils, but the whole document is worth reviewing when you have time so that you can identify the points relevant to you in relation to different settings and regions.
