At this year’s Labour Party Conference, the Education Policy Institute has partnered with the Fair Education Alliance to co-host a fringe event on disadvantage in the UK.
The Education Policy Institute and the Fair Education Alliance share a common goal – to close the gap in outcomes between disadvantaged children and their peers, so that their educational success is not limited by their socio-economic background.
At the end of 2017, the government committed tackling the ‘burning injustices’ facing British society, including inequalities in education. Shortly after, the Department for Education released its own action plan for putting social mobility at the core of its strategy. Since then we have seen an additional six Opportunity Areas announced, an independent review of school exclusions and a new Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy – but what impact are these initiatives making?
Earlier this summer the FEA and the EPI published a major report which examined the progress made in closing the gap in educational attainment. The report found that over recent years there has been a dramatic slowing down in the closure of the gap. Given this worrying trend, there is a significant risk that we could be at a turning point, and that in the coming years we will see the gap start to widen further.
Looking forward, this session will bring together panellists from diverse sectors to explore the following questions: ‘How have the varying policy interventions of recent governments contributed to addressing the disadvantage gap – and how can collective action enable progress more quickly in this area?’.
The event will take place between 14:30-16:00 on Monday 23rd September.
Speakers include: Tracy Brabin MP (Shadow Early Years Minister); Rt Hon. David Lammy MP; Emma Hardy MP (Education Select Committee); Susannah Hardyman (Chief Executive, Action Tutoring); and Rt Hon. David Laws (Executive Chair, Education Policy Institute). Also invited to speak are Emma Knights OBE (Chief Executive, National Governance Association). The panel will be chaired by Samantha Butters, (Chief Executive, Fair Education Alliance).
** Note: This event will take place in the conference secure zone. To access the secure zone you will need to obtain a pass directly from the Labour Party.**
