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I'd say a real opportunity in creating true social mobility would be state supported relocation packages from "dead" areas with no work, to areas where there is demand, on the proviso that the recipient has found work.
Social mobility shouldn't just be free university education to allow people to study (sometimes on courses that do nothing to increase their employability), but to actually allow people of all statuses to better their lives and income.
I'd say a real opportunity in creating true social mobility would be state supported relocation packages from "dead" areas with no work, to areas where there is demand, on the proviso that the recipient has found work
On the face of it not a bad idea but it would cause problems for those left behind. Closing the so called North/South divide by investment in infrastructure may help social mobility more.
The best educational system in Europe is Finland and they have no private schools.
If you were going to design an educational system from scratch then... but we are where we are and its tricky.
Social mobility starts at a very young age, by the time you have got to education at 18 plus a lot of disadvantages/advantages have already been set.
Locally there is a huge gulf between grammar and non grammar schools, many people paying for private education up to 12yo to get into the state grammar system and the secondary schools are handicapped by the difficulties surrounding excluding disruptive pupils.
Ironing out people's disadvantages is never going to be possible but sure start and weighting of funding of inner city schools was a push in the right direction which the Conservatives are now abandoning.
Would like to see this data
Don't have it online but a good chapter in "Inequality and the 1%" along with references to studies in US in "Freakonomics"
I dont doubt you Kerley but I'd be amazed if private schools didnt out perform state schools with similar starting point pupils given the massive inequalities in class sizes and spend per pupil and that before you tried to account for things like negative effects from more disruptive kids in the state sector for example.
Good to see some talk of flexibility in course lengths today. About time. Wish it would go further and see some genuine competion in tertiary education.