SHS in the Media: Schools can help close the education gap by supporting parents
News article from August 9, 2017
Our CEO, Jaine Stannard, has written for Schools Week on the recent news that the education gap between wealthy and disadvantaged pupils is wider than ever. She begins:
“A report came out last week from the the Education Policy Institute, saying that the educational gap between richest and poorest ‘will take 50 years to close’.
With over four million children in the UK growing up in poverty – 30% of the total number of children – the fact that they’re lagging more than two years behind their wealthier peers can no longer be considered a side issue. This is a crisis.
Fortunately, the main reason behind this gap is crystal clear. Unfortunately, it’s often overlooked.
When it comes to the issues that can cause a poorer child not to attain as highly as a wealthier child, educators predictably start to look at schools. However, it’s the issues at home that are crucial.
Over two million children in the UK today are believed to be living in difficult family circumstances. Our monitoring has identified that the disadvantaged children and young people we work with – whose family, social or economic circumstances are affecting their attendance and attainment at school – are:
– Six times more likely to be affected by domestic violence
– Four times more likely to need support because of mental health issues
– Nine times more likely to need support because of drug or alcohol abuse problems
– Three times as likely to have child protection and/or safeguarding issues”
You can read the article in full here: http://schoolsweek.co.uk/we-know-how-to-close-the-attainment-gap-government-and-schools-need-to-commit-to-it/