News
Skills, aspiration and poverty: new research
23 Aug 2011
The National Literacy Trust welcomes the findings of two new reports which highlight the impact of education, skills and aspiration on poverty and social mobility.
The first report comes from the Scottish Government and analyses the reasons behind its findings that, "between 1998-99 and 2008-9 child poverty declined across the UK but fell more in Scotland than in England." The report concludes that this is likely to do with increased access to work, falls in employment and UK Government tax policy. However, outside the of arena of household income, the report concludes that child poverty has declined due to the impact of government strategies, "to increase access to education (negatively associated with the odds of living in poverty)." These strategies are "likely to have contributed to the reduction in child poverty."
The second report comes from the Princes Trust and finds that (of the 2,311 16-24 year olds surveyed) there is a," clear gap in the aspirations of the UK's richest and poorest young people.Young people growing up in poverty are significantly less likely to believe their life and career goals are achievable." Among a summary of key findings are that:
- 29% had few or no books in their home
- One in three were rarely or never read to by their parents
Government policy on child poverty and social mobility continues to stress the importance of parents creating home learning environments. The role of language and literacy in improved life chances is also clear in terms of employment and increased household income.
These issues will be explored and debated at our event, "Breaking the Cycle: aspirations, literacy and the home" on 11th October. This is a crucial event for anyone with responsibility for child poverty or education.
Details about the event can be found here
