Had a presentation from Douglas Hamilton a member of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission on Friday at COSLA Labour Group meeting on Friday. It was really interesting as he gave a historical narrative which told how Labour had reduced child poverty by a third from 30% to 20% between 1998 and 2008. The rate fell faster in Scotland than the rest of the UK. However, it appears that progress has stalled and we are seeing more female unemployment and increases in poverty. I was really interested to hear about the remarkable transformation in educational attainment in London where the average attainment in poorer areas meant that in 1997 only 16% of pupils got 5 good GCSEs but as part of the ‘London Challenge’ initiative – combining political will; additional funding; and giving schools flexibility to address the issues attainment increased dramatically so that 50% of pupils are now getting 5 good GCSEs. Apparently they didn’t employ any more teachers and had higher class sizes but targeting and investing in the quality of support for teachers and changing the culture meant that when the funding was actually withdrawn after 9 years, the attainment level still remained high. Lots of other areas covered but the two key areas that do most to address child poverty in the UK will not be a surprise to most people: (i) improving household income; and (ii) maximising life chances through improved health, housing and educational outcomes.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 20:49:46 +0000