Inequality in Schools

I decided to choose inequality within schools as I feel it is a great topic which is in need of re-form as well as an important topic that if solved could help to reduce not only other areas of inequality such as economic and environmental, but I could also help to prevent issues such as poverty etc.

Defining the problem

“The new state of the nation report by the UCL Institute of Education included 47 school case studies, from 2014 to 2017. It analyses how well the ‘self-improving school-led system’ (SISS) policy agenda, which was brought in in 2010 by the coalition government has worked, and the implications it has had on schools.”

Essentially, this study was set out to analyse the state of education which to me has pointed out many key issues within the British school system. It also looked at the past 10 years of Ofsted results which are quite well regarded in the world of education.

The following statement made me realise that a large issue resides in the state of education.

“Support for the most vulnerable children is reducing, with a tendency for these pupils to become more concentrated in certain schools”

The report goes on to state that we now live in a era where schools have become selfish, often not putting the child before the results and with an ever growing demand for highly achieving children the real question lies in : What about those left behind ?

“At present we see a system of winners and losers”

It is fair to say that teachers are encouraged to spend a greater portion of time on the children performing well and less on those lagging behind. Ultimately, a poor score in Ofsted can lead to loss of funding or potential students as well as the chance to be taken over by multi-academy trusts which would result in narrow curriculums and increased scrutiny.

Overall I am left wondering :

“How can I level the scale within schools and provide equality within the classroom ?”