New study finds poorer pupils in Norfolk are less likely to get into top-performing state schools
More than 150 secondary schools in England are said to be more "socially selective" than the average grammar school
Last updated 11th Jan 2024
Poorer pupils in Norfolk and beyond are less likely to get into top-performing state schools compared to their peers even if there's one locally, according to new a study.
More than 150 secondary schools in England are said to be more "socially selective" than the average grammar school, according to research by the charity, Sutton Trust.
The study looked at the top 500 secondary schools in England by the Attainment 8 measure - which assesses the achievement of a pupil across eight subjects at GCSE.
It found, on average, these top comprehensive schools took 40% fewer pupils eligible for free school meals than the average comprehensive school.
"They have basically disappeared from some schools"
Scott Lyons is a former teacher and works for the National Education Union in Norfolk:
He says the county faces unique problems:
"We've got hidden poverty in the countryside and on the coast. There's many examples of families being financially unable to move, so that constraints them. It's why the NEU wants to see a good school in every community.
"The issues around school trips are massive. They have basically disappeared from some schools because they can no longer subsidise them, when parents are asked to make voluntary contributions."
"You're going to get less people going onto higher education"
He told us how the NEU's working to close the gap: "We're trying to look at some of the home-schooling opportunities, that may be an option to help with this.
"In reality, some of the more middle-class parents might be able to take up that option. This might free up the more disadvantaged pupils to get better access to resources.
"If nothing happens, you're going to get less people going onto higher education and less provision for apprenticeships.
"If we don't get it right in the school as early as we can, we'll just be passing it along. If disadvantaged students can't access good education, what chance do they have?"
The wider findings:
The research suggested that around a third of this gap is down to the schools being located in more affluent areas, but two-thirds represent "some form of social selection within that area".
These top comprehensive schools have 30% fewer pupils eligible for FSM than live in their catchment areas, according to the Sutton Trust.
This could be down to a "complex mixture of factors" - including schools' complicated admissions policies, parental decision-making and degrees of parental agency, it added.
The research found that levels of social selection differed across England, with the lowest number of top schools concentrated in some parts of the country with the highest FSM rates.
Faith schools are also more likely to be "socially selective" than the non-religious top comprehensive schools, according to the report.
The research concluded: "This report finds little evidence to suggest that comprehensive schools are becoming less socially selective, strong evidence that things have not improved since 2017 and some clear evidence pointing to increasing levels of social selection in comprehensive admissions in some parts of the system."
The Sutton Trust are calling on the Government to review admissions code policies to ensure children eligible for the pupil premium - which is funding for state schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils - are included in a school's oversubscription priority criteria.
"We need to urgently address this problem"
Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, said: "The levels of social segregation across the school system are unacceptable.
"The poorest parts of the country are hit by a double whammy of having the fewest top comprehensive schools, which are also the most socially selective. This is deeply concerning."
"We need to urgently address this problem to create a more balanced system and raise the quality of all schools.
"The Government should review the school admissions code to ensure all state schools take a mix of pupils which reflects their local community and provide disadvantaged pupils with a fair chance to access top-performing schools."
The Sutton Trust has also called on the Government to include an assessment of fair access in Ofsted inspections and to address financial barriers such as transport and uniform costs.
What's the Government had to say?
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“We are taking the long-term decisions to ensure every school is delivering the best quality education for pupils, including through our multimillion-pound Maths and English hubs programme and phonics screening check. Education standards have risen sharply across the country since 2010 with 89% of schools now rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, up from just 68% 13 years ago.
“The School Admissions Code requires admission arrangements to be fair, clear and objective, and no child should be unfairly disadvantaged.
“Admission authorities can choose to prioritise children eligible for the pupil premium when they are over their published admission number according to the need of their local area.”
Background:
Admissions
• Anyone who believes a school’s admission arrangements are unlawful or unfair can object to the Schools Adjudicator. The Adjudicator’s decision is binding.
Faith schools
• Designated faith schools and academies are allowed, when oversubscribed, to use faith-based admissions criteria to determine who gets a place. However, like other schools, faith schools cannot use any admissions criteria until they are oversubscribed, if they have not reached their published admissions number (PAN) they must offer a place to every pupil that applies. Many oversubscribed faith schools choose to open up a proportion of places to children of other faiths or none, so will only use faith-based admissions criteria to prioritise a proportion of places and some do not apply any faith criteria at all.
• Free schools with a religious character as subject to a 50% cap on the use of faith-based admissions criteria. So if a school with a PAN of 100 is oversubscribed, it may only fill the first 50 places using faith-based admissions criteria. It must use different criteria, such as distance or whether the child has a sibling at the school to fill the remaining 50.
School Uniforms
• The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the Cost of School Uniform to ensure that the cost of school uniforms is affordable and secures best value for money for parents.
• The statutory guidance requires schools to keep branded items to a minimum and limit their use to low cost or long-lasting items. - In England, some local authorities provide discretionary grants to help with buying school uniforms. Local authorities that offer these grants set their own criteria for eligibility. You can also read more on affordability from our press release on gov.uk