Schools could be encouraged to favour poorer children

Popular schools could be encouraged to favour poorer children over middle class children, under controversial admissions changes being studied by the coalition.

Whether children are eligible for free school meals could be considered alongside factors such as where the family lives when deciding who gets places.

The idea is intended to complement the Government’s “pupil premium” scheme – which will see up to 2,000 of extra funding made available for each child at a school who is eligible for free meals.

Education Secretary Michael Gove is understood only to have asked officials to “examine the feasibility” of allowing new “free schools” and academies to use the criterion.

However, even the tentative suggestion is likely to provoke criticism, as thousands of middle class families have paid inflated property prices to ensure they are within catchment areas for the best schools.

It is not clear whether only poorer children living within catchment areas would be in line for preferential treatment – or whether those outside could also benefit.

Altogether more than a million children whose households have lower incomes could be eligible.

A source close to Mr Gove said social mobility had “gone backwards” under Labour, and the education system was “one of the most segregated and stratified in the world”.

“The central aim of the Government’s education policy is making opportunity more equal,” the source said.

“As part of our commitment to helping every child do better we’re introducing a pupil premium – which will mean more cash for the poorest children in all our schools.

“And we’re exploring how schools which wish to target their efforts on helping the poorest can be helped.”

Mr Gove is said to be keen to emulate the success of charter schools in the US, which explicitly target their attention on poorer children.