The Mayor's Fund for London’s Post

I’m sure you agree – in theory – that everyone should have an equal chance in life. But do you agree – in practice – when difficult trade-offs or government spending are needed? The UK has the second worst social mobility in the G10. This unfair, and a contributor to our awful economic productivity. If we’re not using the talents of everyone, we’re leaving growth on the table. The Sutton Trust analysis a few years ago showed that increasing UK mobility to the European average would add 2-9% to GDP. Taking the midpoint, £100bn per year! How do we fix it? It’ll take time, but we know most of the answers. Here are ‘top-10’ actions from our experience, and they’re in our manifesto for government. Which do you agree with? 1. Early education which is accessible to all and focused on education (not just childcare). Inc. a core entitlement of 20 hrs a week, for all 2-4 yr-olds. 2. A national mission to close the attainment gap between richer and poorer pupils (which is almost a grade per subject at GCSE), including a funded tutoring programme, and additional funding for deprived schools. 3. Taking poverty out of the classroom. No child should be hungry in class, or unable to study because of conditions at home. Includes expanding free school meals to all families eligible for Universal Credit, and broader poverty reduction (e.g., the JRF’s ‘essentials guarantee’). 4. Building wider life skills both in and out of lessons, such as public speaking, confidence, teamwork, and resilience. 5. Fairer and more mixed state school admissions: Reducing ‘selection by house price’, including using admission ballots from a wider catchment, and giving priority to disadvantaged pupils. 6. Making education from 16-19 work for all young people: Wider financial support for students so all young people can afford to study regardless of background (e.g., education maintenance allowance). Extension of the Pupil Premium to FE to help schools and colleges support low-income students. 7. Increase the supply of high-quality Apprenticeships for young people, as we know they are a strong social mobility driver. Changes to the Apprenticeship Levy to nudge businesses in the right direction (e.g. restrictions on offering apprenticeships to existing staff above a certain salary). 8. A more progressive higher education funding system: Maintenance loans increased to reflect the true cost of living, and grants re-introduced, so lower income students are not left with the highest debts. 9. Fairer access to work: Require companies to measure the socio-economic background of their workforce. Ban unpaid internships (which advantage those with connections / financial means). 10. A renewed focus on wider family support. Expand access to Sure Start Centres and Family Hubs to offer combined services (inc. health and family support) – ideally to all families, but at a minimum, universal provision in disadvantaged areas. https://lnkd.in/e-wfQcJU

Never heard of T Levels? Ever wondered what hosting a T Level learner on a placement entails? Want to find out more? Inside Housing's latest article reveals how WDH have worked in collaboration with the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group to make a positive impact on our learners first steps into their career! Could you make a difference too? #TLevels #managementandadministration #placement #learningthroughpractice #learningoutsidetheclassroom

It's time for a change. ......... Sorry to use the general election clickbait folks. 😁 Albeit there will likely be an impact on the topic of this post! But despite the incredible potential of apprenticeships to bridge the skills gap and provide valuable career pathways, we still haven’t cracked it yet i in the UK, have we. It's time to rethink our approach. Let's invest in our future workforce by championing and expanding upskilling and in particular, apprenticeship opportunities. It's time for a change and if you want some advice on how, please reach out to Rullion or myself directly. #Apprenticeships #SkillsGap #FutureWorkforce #UKCareers

 In a week where many Universities in Ireland are advertising ‘Open Days’ for prospective students, perhaps it could be a good time to stand back and ask ourselves why an average of 12% of those students never complete even their first year. Somewhat alarmingly this figure rises to over 20% in some educational institutions. There are likely to be many reasons for this drop out rate. Among those reasons must be the issue of a young person’s preparedness & suitability for full time 3rd level academia. In my view one of the most encouraging developments in education in recent years has been a renewed focus on Apprenticeships. In a week where many students are beginning to solidify their thoughts on their next, major life step, there is a responsibility on all who can influence them, to at least make them aware of the option of an Apprenticeship. https://lnkd.in/evXWs9EZ

Since this scheme started it was never flexible enough to meet the needs of all sectors. I wholeheartedly agree business should be training people but give us the flexibility to allocate this budget against how businesses need it to be used - short duration training, vocational courses, leadership development and of course allocate a LARGE percentage of it against apprenticeships programmes. We then have training programmes that benefit the whole workforce rather than an inflexible apprenticeship levy that is just another tax. At VGC Group we are reinvesting huge sums into our learning and development budgets but imagine what we could do with access to this pot of training money??

Recently, I spoke with Shailesh Solanki at Eastern Eye, exploring the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and building a workforce that is representative of society as a whole.   This is one of the very reasons I founded The 5% Club all those years ago - to break down the barriers young people, from all walks of life, face in acquiring the skills that build lifelong careers and fuel the UK's economic growth.   In my view, it is what you do going forward that matters, not where you start. https://lnkd.in/eKgXcV4G

Great to see the amazing achievements of the impressive young people that the Sutton Trust works with through this excellent new blog from James Yarde. Using data from HEAT we can see the deep impact that participating in The Sutton Trust programmes can have for participants. https://lnkd.in/edJBD6JF We know that the students we work with are already keen to go to university before starting their programme. Our programmes: 🔀 help young people make informed choices about their next steps, 🔑 support the development of necessary skills to get there and, 😃 give them the confidence boost they need to get started. This is borne out by the data that shows when controlling for attainement, background characterists and motivation, Sutton Trust students are 60% more likely to enrol at university and Sutton Trust Summer School students are 46% more likely to enrol at a research intensive university. This matters because many universities still have access gaps with students from underserved communities less likely to attend leading institutions. so If you know a young person in Y12 (England or Wales), Y13 (N. Ireland) or S5 (Scotland) who wants to explore their options and get support with applications please let them know that applications are currently open until 7 March for our Summer Schools (UK-wide) and Access Apprenticeships (London and Birmingham) programmes. https://lnkd.in/eBYvDV4U A huge thank you to James Yarde for the blog and all the number crunching with Harry Thomason as well as all of our excellent partners without whom these impactful programmes wouldn't be possible.

A guarantee for every 18-21 year old to have an apprenticeship or training. Apprenticeships have got huge amount of support from the Labour Party manifesto, and it's great to see that there has been a huge recognition of the decline in young apprentices, which is not down to a lack of demand. Many of you will know that this is an issue Baltic have been shouting about for some time, and the focus of our report which I presented in parliament late last year. The significance of this approach from Labour can not be underestimated. It will be life changing for tens of thousands of young people, our skills and our economy. https://lnkd.in/eiJpBh-m #LabourManifesto #Apprenticeships

The evolution of teacher externships in England has been a long one. Externships which involve teachers spending time in industry to gain real-world experience – benefit teachers schools, learners, and businesses alike. Read more about this in our blog from Cherakee Bradley: https://lnkd.in/eMxds5MG