The education system consistently fails society’s poorest children and requires thorough reform according to a new report out this week
The report analyses decades of educational policy and demonstrates how pupils who receive free school meals (FSM) are twice as likely than their peers to end up out of work, education or training, even with the same qualifications and highlights how educational frameworks make it difficult for educators to support disadvantaged pupils, before proposing a radical new approach to end decades of failure.
One quarter of all GSCE pupils are eligible for FSM in England. Within this cohort, only 38% pass English and Maths GCSEs, compared to 66% of non-FSM pupils. This disadvantage continues into adulthood, with FSM students twice as likely to be classified as NEET (not in employment, education or training) aged 16-24 than their peers.
The report was researched and written by Jonathan Slater, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education between 2016-20, in collaboration with UCL academics Dan Honig and Professor Lindsey MacMillan (UCL Social Research Institute) and proposes an innovative solution: replace the current high-stakes accountability system with a proven ‘test, learn and grow’ approach to public service reform that empowers schools to collaborate and innovate.
Moving away from a Whitehall-led approach,Slater’s programme encourages policymakers,
educators and communities to test and refine solutions. The report highlights a need for both practical help for schools and trusts to work together and encourage innovation.
Slater suggests replacing Ofsted inspections (other than for safeguarding), with a new evaluation framework, which would be supported by real-time data generated by the new methodology. He argues that the removal of Ofsted inspections would benefit both teacher retention and capacity, highlighting how three quarters of teachers believe that Ofsted has a negative impact on retention, and over half feeling that it is the main driver of unnecessary workload.
The report also highlights the need for place-based partnerships and the importance of pupil voice in shaping reform, including case studies from Plymouth, Derbyshire, North Birkenhead, and high-performing schools like Michaela and Mercia in London and Sheffield.
In addition to the educational benefits, the paper highlights the economic saving to the Government of these reforms. Each young person who doesn’t become NEET on leaving school would result in a government saving of c.£10,000 (in reduced benefits and additional tax paid).
Johnathan Slater said: “We cannot accept that poverty should determine a child’s educational fate. The current system disincentivises schools from focusing on the pupils who need help the most. It’s time to change that.This is not just a policy challenge—it’s a moral imperative.With the right strategy, we can give every child the education they deserve.”
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