This summer, an independent inquiry into white working-class education outcomes concluded that underachievement is driven not by low aspirations or individual failings, but by a complex set of systemic challenges. These include lower levels of belonging, higher rates of absence and too few clear pathways into further study, training and employment.

The findings were based on polling exploring how different groups of young people and parents experience education across England, and focus groups with working-class children, young people and the adults who teach, support, care for and live alongside them. 

The inquiry’s panel included NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen, UK Research and Innovation’s Opportunities Mission challenge director Anne-Marie Canning MBE, and Ed Dorrell, a partner at Public First and former deputy editor at Tes.

Here, they unpack some of the inquiry’s findings and the changes needed to improve outcomes for young people.

⁠Find out more about the independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes⁠.

For more insightful and engaging discussions on key issues in education and school leadership, explore NAHT’s online magazine ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leadership Focus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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