Social mobility report welcomed (2016)

Commenting on the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s research on social mobility, Josh Coleman, Education Principal, at Nacro said:
“This research is an important piece of work. There has been a forced separation of academic and vocational education since the 1950s and, for the first time, this tracks disadvantaged young people through their education and employment journey. It demonstrates there are significant variations in achievement based on locality and highlights that opportunity is more complicated than traditionally measured.

“However, in order to address the life chances of disadvantaged young people, we must look beyond traditional metrics of academic qualifications and entry into university. The untold story of social mobility lies in vocational education. A cultural obsession with university attainment will not address social mobility. It results in too many disadvantaged young people being lost in a system that fails to offer valid alternatives to academia and are sold a life story of failure.

“We agree with the Prime Minister when he called for a new approach to tackling disadvantage by looking at life chances. We hope the Commission will work with charities like Nacro to spotlight the missing story of young people’s vocational education.”

Further information about the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s report can be found here.