Jayne Dowle: Social mobility is problem for everyone, not just schools

This, he says, is characterised by disaffection, lack of aspiration, poor exam results and the general sense that thousands of our young people are adrift without a guiding star. However, we don’t need yet another report to remind us what we can witness every day; in the last couple of decades, something has gone seriously wrong with the concept of social mobility in this country.

Not for a moment would I belittle Sir Michael’s report, nor dismiss the many other thought-provoking reports which have been produced on the theme.

Alan Milburn’s recent research, for instance, suggests that top universities are still not doing enough to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He makes a very valid point, but this distracts from problems which go much deeper. There are children whose horizons are so limited that they can’t imagine ever leaving their council estates, never mind finding the wherewithal to get themselves to Oxford or Cambridge.

In order to nail down this elusive concept of social mobility, most of these well-meaning reports come down to one thing: education. And while I would never argue that a decent education isn’t of vital importance to any child attempting to make their way in the world, education in itself cannot solve the endemic problems our society faces.

Before a child even reaches school, there is the attitude at home to consider. That “anti-school” culture which concerns Sir Michael and his fellow educationalists is not confined to the classroom. In so many homes there is an inherent disrespect for teachers and schools inherited by children directly from their parents.

These children have no respect for authority. They live by their own rules; how to abuse the benefits system, how to juggle complex family relationships and how to conduct constant battles with the cast of “support” workers paid to supposedly help them.

Of course, there have always been such families. The issue is that now we have more of them than ever before. Supported by the state for generations, they have no concept of motivating themselves.

Sensible politicians have finally realised this, and have stopped making excuses. The crackdown on benefits under the coalition, and the tough approach promised by Labour leader Ed Miliband, prove it.

When we look back on these difficult years, we will see them as a turning point. When the dust settles, it is possible to imagine a new generation emerging who accept that the only way to move forward is under their own steam.

Education will once again be recognised for the transformative powers it had in the past, when a bright child from a poor home saw it as a clear way to escape.

Right now though, we are in painful transition. Throwing money at the problem will not necessarily ease the pain. For instance, recent research from the IPPR think-tank suggests that the pupil premium, introduced by this Government to pay for measures to help disadvantaged pupils, does not always go to the right place. It’s not ring-fenced, so in a cash-strapped school it can go anywhere.

Anyway, money can’t buy confidence, which is what social mobility really comes down to.

This is where every single one of us has a role to play. We hear a lot about how independent schools should be placed under moral obligation to help local state schools. It’s not just the schools which should get involved though.

We should all be role models. We should all help to create those networks which luckier children from privileged homes already benefit from.

That’s why I say don’t sit back and shake your head in despair at this latest report. Reach out. Volunteer to help in a local school, if you can.

Just seeing a person from the “outside world” can motivate pupils bored of the classroom 
and lost at home.

If you’re able, offer a work experience place in your company, or suggest a youngster shadows you for a day or two. What would it cost you, except patience and perhaps a sandwich for lunch?

If you work in a certain field, or went to university, make sure that even the most random acquaintances know you’re happy to advise their children when they ask how to get where you are.

Whatever you do, I urge you not to regard all those drifting kids as someone else’s problem. You could become that guiding star that they so desperately need.