Give poor children vouchers for extra tuition – think-tank

As well as paying for tuition, books and cultural activities for working-class children, the government should oblige schools to publish socio-economic data on applications and admissions, suggests the trust’s Parent Power? report.

Randomisation

The report also calls for the government to encourage the random allocation – through the use of ballots – of school places.

Sutton Trust Chairman Sir Peter Lampl said:

“School admissions need to be fairer so that the best schools aren’t just for those who can afford to live nearby, with ballots used particularly in urban areas.”

The Trust’s researchers found that 32 per cent of professional parents with children aged 5-16 had moved to an area which they thought had good schools.

One of its authors, Professor Becky Francis, said:

“Our research shows just how far equality of opportunity is being undermined by the greater purchasing power of some parents.

“The ability for some parents but not others to use financial resources to secure their children’s achievement poses real impediments for social mobility, which need to be recognised and addressed as detrimental to society.”

The Department for Education said in a statement:

“We want all parents to have the choice of a good local state school. That is why we are replacing failing schools with sponsored academies which are proven to raise standards, opening new free schools, where parents want them and introducing a more rigorous curriculum, with qualifications that match the world’s best.”

Cheating the system
A minority of the parents with children at state schools admitted to cheating the system.
Of all parents, 2 per cent admitted to buying a second home to use the address to get their children into a specific school, rising to 5 per cent among the upper middle class parents.
Of all parents, 3 per cent admitted to using a relative's address to get a child into a specific school, rising to 6 per cent of the upper middle class parents.
Of all parents 6 per cent admitted to going to church just to get their child into a church school, rising to 10 per cent of the upper middle class parents surveyed.

Extra-curricular expenditure

Of the 1,173 parents surveyed, 68 per cent of the professional parents were paying for weekly music, drama or sporting lessons and activities outside school, whereas 47 per cent of working-class parents were compared to 31 per cent of the lowest-income parents.

Sir Peter Lampl commented:

“This research suggests that those with money actively choose to live near good schools, employ tutors and ensure their children have extra lessons and enrichment activities that are often too expensive for other families to afford.

“This provides a significant advantage in school choice and in developing the cultural capital that is so important to social mobility and later success.”