Literacy news

Government sets out strategy to improve social mobility

5 Apr 2011

Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, has launched the Coalition Government’s strategy for improving social mobility in the UK. The strategy sets out a number of long term targets, including an independent Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, to monitor and improve social mobility in the UK over the coming decades.

The strategy, Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Social Mobility, focuses on four key stages which have a profound impact on social mobility. These are, the Foundation Years, School Years, Transition Years and Adulthood.

Specific policies in the strategy include:

• An increased entitlement to 15 hours of free childcare per week for disadvantaged two-year-olds.
• The introduction of the pupil premium, and review of the curriculum to ensure all children are challenged at school.
• An increase in funding for disadvantaged post-16 learners to £770 million by 2011-12.
• Extra support for adults who wish to return to education in later years. 

At the launch of the strategy, the Deputy Prime Minister said that he wanted the present government, and future governments, to be held to account over their attempts to "make Britain a fairer and more socially mobile place".

However, The Child Poverty Action Group charity is considering launching a judicial review on the statutory requirements that it believes have not been met on the strategy and the commission. Chief Executive Alison Garnham said

"A child poverty strategy which does not set out how poverty numbers will fall, and by when, is not a strategy, and is incredibly disappointing and surprising given the prime minister's stated commitment on tackling poverty.”

Read the full report on the Cabinet Office website

Read a news article about the strategy on the Guardian website

Tags: Adult literacy, Adults, Communities and local areas, Early Years, Early years sector, England, Schools & teaching, Young People

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