Education alone will not close social mobility gap - study

A postcode lottery of social mobility has been identified by the report, The long shadow of deprivation: Differences in opportunities across England, from the Social Mobility Commission which reveals local council areas where families have the lowest opportunities in life.

These areas are across England and include: Thanet in Kent; Chiltern in Buckinghamshire; Fenland in Cambridgeshire; Wolverhampton in the West Midlands; Bradford in West Yorkshire; Bolton in Greater Manchester, and Gateshead in Tyne and Wear.

In these ‘coldest spots’ those from disadvantaged backgrounds have been found to have little chance of making a better life for themselves or their children:

• Individuals, aged 28, from disadvantaged families in these council areas earn on average just over half the amount of those from similar backgrounds in the most mobile areas.
• They can earn much less than those of the same age from more affluent families living nearby.

The study found that education, which is often blamed for social mobility differences, is only part of the answer. In areas with high social mobility, gaps in educational achievement account for almost the entire pay difference between the most and least advantaged. On average it accounts for 80 per cent of the difference.

However, in local authorities where social mobility is low it is much harder to escape deprivation. In such areas, up to 33 per cent of the pay gap between the highest and lowest earners is down to non-education factors. Disadvantaged workers are restricted by factors including:

• limited social networks leading to fewer internships
• inability to move to more prosperous areas
• limited or no financial support from family
• less resilience to economic turbulence due to previous crisis such as 2008 financial crash
• less developed soft skills.

Areas with high social mobility - where those from poorer backgrounds earn more and the pay gap with those from affluent families is smaller - include Forest Heath in Suffolk; West Oxfordshire; South Derbyshire; Kingston upon Thames in Greater London; South Gloucestershire; North Hertfordshire and Eden in Cumbria.

Steven Cooper, interim co-chair of the Commission, describes the findings as ‘very challenging’.

‘They tell a story of deep unfairness, determined by where you grow up,’ he said. ‘It is not a story of North versus South or urban versus rural; this is a story of local areas side by side with vastly different outcomes for the disadvantaged sons growing up there.’

The research, carried out by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO), is the most detailed study of regional social mobility conducted in the UK, covering around 320 local councils in England.

It links educational data and HMRC earnings for the first time to identify young sons from disadvantaged families- those entitled to free school meals. The sons, who were born between 1986 and 1988 and went to state school in England, were followed from 16- to 28-years-old.

Professor Lindsey Macmillan, director of CEPEO at UCL and Research Fellow at IFS said, ‘This new evidence highlights the need for a joined up-approach across government, third sector organisations, and employers.

‘The education system alone cannot tackle this postcode lottery – a strategy that considers the entire life experience, from birth through to adulthood, is crucial to ensuring fairer life chances for all.’

The commission is urging regional and community leaders to use the findings to help draw up tailored, sustained, local programmes to boost social mobility, building on the approach in some Opportunity Areas. It is calling on the Government to extend its current Opportunity Areas programme – which gives support to 12 councils - to include several more authorities identified as the areas with the most entrenched disadvantage.

A Government spokesperson said, 'Now more than ever, our focus is on levelling up the opportunities available to every young person in this country and we will do everything possible to make sure no-one is left behind as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

'The needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable remain central to all our work and we continue to invest heavily to close the attainment gap through initiatives like the £1 billion Covid catch-up fund and pupil premium funding, and through investment in childcare and early years education.

'On top of this we are investing £90 million in 12 Opportunity Areas to improve skills and outcomes for thousands of young people in some of the most disadvantaged parts of England, with a focus this year on rolling out initiatives that have worked in other areas to help other places tackle similar challenges.'