Select committee: Education Committee
Conclusion 28
First Report - The forgotten: how White working-class pupils have been let down, and how to change it
Published 22 Jun 2021
Paragraph 115
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Left behind white pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Good teachers who understand disadvantaged White students’ needs and who can be good role models are central to raising this group’s outcomes. We know that teaching quality is worse in disadvantaged areas than in wealthier areas, with schools less likely to be rated good or outstanding by Ofsted for their quality of teaching. Schools in disadvantaged areas are also less likely to have experienced The forgotten: how White working-class pupils have been let down, and how to change it 61 teachers, less likely to have teachers in qualified subject areas, and more likely to have higher teacher turnovers. The Department cannot take the current rise in applicants to teacher training during the pandemic for granted. Raising teachers’ starting salaries and the Early Careers Framework are welcome but there is more to do.
From: Education Committee, First Report - The forgotten: how White working-class pupils have been let down, and how to change it (HC 85), paragraph 115, 22 June 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 4 November 2021 (deadline 22 August 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with the report's overriding ambition and "largely accept[s] the majority of the recommendations", while not fully accepting some because it considers its existing or planned policies "better formulated".
- On statistics, it recognises that Free School Meals eligibility is "an imperfect measure of disadvantage" and says it will "commit to investigating where further regional breakdowns can feasibly be added", noting disclosure risks and user needs.
- On teaching about "white privilege", it says schools "should not teach contested theories and opinions as fact" and that it has "already begun working with the sector to develop guidance".
- On skills tax credits and changes to the apprenticeship levy, it says it does not believe credits are "necessary" and does "not agree with the Committee that changes are needed to the apprenticeship levy".
- On free schools and early years funding, it says future free school approvals "will be considered as part of the Spending Review" and that early years funding "will be considered at the forthcoming Spending Review".