Forgotten white working-class children let down by decades of neglect
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Action from early years through to higher education is needed to tackle the ‘forgotten’ white working-class pupils who have been let down by decades of neglect, MPs said in a controversial new report, which faced immediate criticism for a section on ‘White privilege’.
The Education Committee’s report The forgotten: how White working-class pupils have been let down, and how to change it, highlights how White British pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) persistently underperform compared with peers in other ethnic groups, from early years through to higher education.
The report outlines that terminology such as ‘white privilege’ may have contributed towards a ‘systemic neglect’ of white working-class pupils who need support.
It states that – ‘Schools should consider whether the promotion of politically controversial terminology, including White Privilege, is consistent with their duties under the Equality Act 2010’.
The MPs also accuse the Government of ‘muddled thinking’ on policy, which has let down white pupils and failed to recognise the scale of the problem.
They make a series of recommendations to improve white working-class pupils’ outcomes, including finding ‘a better way to talk about racial disparities’ to avoid pitting different groups against each other.
Call for ‘clear’ guidance
The committee agreed with the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities that discourse around the term ‘White Privilege’ can be divisive, and that disadvantage should be discussed without pitting different groups against each other.
MPs said the Department for Education (DfE) should issue clear guidance for schools and organisations on how to deliver teaching on these complex issues in a balanced, ‘impartial and age-appropriate way’.
The report recommended a strong network of family hubs should be introduced around the country to boost parental engagement and mitigate the effects of multi-generational disadvantage.
Robert Halfon MP, chair of the Education Committee, said, ‘For decades now White working-class pupils have been let down and neglected by an education system that condemns them to falling behind their peers every step of the way. White working-class pupils underperform significantly compared to other ethnic groups, but there has been muddled thinking from all governments and a lack of attention and care to help these disadvantaged White pupils in towns across our country.
‘If the Government is serious about closing the overall attainment gap, then the problems faced by the biggest group of disadvantaged pupils can no longer be swept under the carpet. Never again should we lazily put the gap down to poverty alone, given that we know free school meal eligible pupils from other ethnic groups consistently outperform their White British peers. In 2019, less than 18 per cent of free school meal eligible White British pupils achieved a strong pass in English and Maths GCSEs, compared with 22.5 per cent of all similarly disadvantaged pupils. This equates to nearly 39,000 White working-class children missing out.
‘So far, the Department for Education has been reluctant to recognise the specific challenges faced by the White working class, let alone do anything to tackle this chronic social injustice. This must stop now.’
Critics of the report
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said, it was ‘important to understand that social class is the biggest determinant of educational success or failure’ and that there should be ‘greater focus’ on working class pupils.
‘With 4.3 million children trapped in poverty, the report should do more to acknowledge the impact of poverty and the huge challenge that poverty poses for schools. Whilst schools can make a difference, they can’t make the difference on poverty,’ she said.
‘The NEU believes that experiences and stereotypes around class and ethnicity are inter-related, and we must therefore support schools to think about sex, class and ethnicity. Indeed, from the report’s own evidence, it is Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children whose attainment and entry to higher education needs the most attention, and findings for Black Caribbean children on Free School Meals are insignificantly different to White children on FSM.
‘It is deeply unhelpful to try and make it harder to talk in schools about racism, which seems to be one intention of the report. Racism is endemic across society and in workplaces and nearly half of Black children are living in poverty. Racist content is being targeted at young people online in working-class areas across the country and so all schools must talk proactively about racism, including tackle racist bullying, in age-appropriate ways. We think a proper role for Government would be to share good practice about how to tackle racism using education, and how to develop teachers’ skills around poverty-proofing the school day.
‘Both challenging racism and empowering all working-class students should be at the heart of this next phase of recovery education, after Covid. We should be prepared to ask big questions about how to redesign education to respond to these inequalities.’
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, questioned why the committee had chosen to enter the debate about the term white privilege.
‘This does not seem helpful and is likely to divert attention from the rest of the report,’ he said. ‘We have to do better for all disadvantaged pupils – from all ethnic backgrounds … Many communities suffer from multigenerational poverty, insecure employment and lack of opportunity, and it is extremely hard to raise attainment when children and families experience such factors.’
Full Report here: https://committees.parliament.