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Levelling up’ can be an ambiguous term and has been through many iterations from the 19th Century. Currently it is a key policy of the incumbent government that proposes tackling inequality in regions of the UK that have seen economic decline. This will be done, they say, by creating new jobs, boosting training and growing productivity. The government have produced a white paper on the subject There are a number of investment proposals within the document as to how this ‘levelling up’ can be achieved in education including : A new Schools’ funding formula and more money for schools( an extra £4bn rising to £4.7bn in 2024/25, a new skills investment of £3.8bn by 2024/5 . There will be new numeracy and skills bootcamps, the creation of 55 new Education investment areas (EIA’s) encouraging strong multi academy trusts to move into them and a series of online, extracurricular entitlement, and key skills initiatives..
On face value some of these investments are to be welcomed but can they fundamentally change deep-rooted regional disparity in educational outcomes? The areas of disadvantage (for instance former mining communities, urban estates, and seaside towns) need more than piecemeal educational projects and handouts that don’t fundamentally change the existing educational system. Research from red wall seats like Bassetlaw, for instance suggests that problems start early in socially disadvantaged households as the % of children on free school meals attaining a good level of development at the end of reception in these areas are the lowest in the country. Reinstating Sure Start funding to at least 2010 levels (1.8 billion in current value) would be an important step. A variety of research has found that the sure Start centres brought big benefits for children’s health, support information and advice for parents and reductions in hospital admissions for under 11’s -particularly in disadvantaged areas. There are some very good ideas around enhancing school premium for disadvantaged students (including pre-school and 16-19) that will make a significant difference. Additionally, there also needs to be stronger state support for nursery education. The networks of pupil referral units need reinstating in these areas to offset the rise in disaffected anti-social behaviour. SEND and mental health provision and investment needs to be front and centre of a joined up approach within LEA’s , MATS or converter academies and schools held to account on exclusions and off-rolling.
Pressures of accountability and financial restrictions have forced senior leaders to narrow the curriculum. This has resulted in disaffection for some learners and more fixed term exclusions. In areas like the Southeast where jobs in the knowledge-intensive sector are typically more prevalent this does not have the impact that it has in socially deprived areas. Here Edge foundation research has shown there is a gap between what employers want and what skills students have. There needs to be a widening of the curriculum and far more flexibility to teach a broader content that focuses on the 21st century skills that the CBI suggest children should be taught. These will foster the so-called 4c’s ‘soft skills’ (critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication). Exciting and inspiring Cross-disciplinary Integrated approaches utilising links with business need to be encouraged from early in the secondary sector. There needs to be a choice at 14 for students to choose to study vocational courses that have equal parity with the academic. This has been a long-standing issue within the educational diet in secondary schools with some excellent ideas falling by the wayside. The erosion of the vocational/academic divide is essential for any real educational levelling up so that students in socially disadvantaged areas can match their skills to the demands of local employers.
Long term, students need to be trained up for the skills of the future. The White paper gives examples of green manufacturing including: the renewed commitment by Nissan and Envision to manufacture electric vehicles in Sunderland and £100m of investment in three innovation Accelerators. Schools and colleges need to tackle issues like emissions, fossil fuels, methane, fracking, renewable energy, wind turbines, solar power clean steel. There needs to be a green curriculum to educate our young people in these areas and to address potential skill shortages- possibly within a rebranded Citizenship certificate. The digital economy is another key area, where students can choose to study the Media and creative industries. The Arts, Food technology, hospitality and engineering skills are other key areas to embrace. Instead of focusing on a narrowed largely statutory results-driven curriculum students should be able to personalise their school journey developing links , for instance with local industry, museums and other providers.in their local area.
The patchwork of some reasonable proposals for some ‘levelling up’ in the white paper largely ignores the system that learners experience now and is therefore unlikely to make a real difference.
Christopher Harris is a joint Vice-chair of the Fabian Educational policy group.