{"id":87302,"date":"2017-12-14T10:33:15","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T10:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=37df69785e879e454d7f3e081c498ffb"},"modified":"2017-12-14T10:33:15","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T10:33:15","slug":"speech-justine-greening-our-ambition-is-to-leave-no-community-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=87302","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Justine Greening: our ambition is to leave no community behind"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>Thank you for that introduction and thank you to Reform, KPMG and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for bringing us all together today. I\u2019m so pleased to have this chance to speak to all of you.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m going to talk about three things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Firstly, the problem: why Britain has never cracked social mobility;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Secondly, solutions: my ambitions for helping everyone to become the best version of themselves through their education; and<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Thirdly, everyone\u2019s problem needs everyone\u2019s solution \u2013 if we\u2019re going to achieve anything then social mobility, equality of opportunity needs to be a common ambition \u2013 with schools, colleges, universities, but also businesses, civil society, local communities all playing their part.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 id=\"the-problem\">The problem<\/h4>\n<p>So, firstly, setting out the problem. And I think of all the speeches I\u2019ve made, this might be the most personal.<\/p>\n<p>Because social mobility has been such an important part of my own life, I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d get to where I am now. Looking ahead as a child, I\u2019m not sure I could ever have guessed I\u2019d be doing what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n<p>I went back to my old school last month, Oakwood Comprehensive in Rotherham. We all start somewhere and that school was my start.<\/p>\n<p>I spoke to some of the children who are there now, and met some of the teachers who taught me. It was a fantastic visit. And as I looked at the children there now, you can\u2019t help ask a simple question: who could they be.<\/p>\n<p>And that questions matters because too often in this country the answer to that question \u2013 for any child \u2013 is too much about where they happen to start.<\/p>\n<p>The reality is that in modern Britain where you start still too often decides where you finish.<\/p>\n<p>This is a defining challenge for us as a nation. We have talent spread evenly across this great country \u2013 the problem is that opportunity isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>And for many people it\u2019s a whole lifespan of missed opportunities. If you start school behind on your vocabulary and language skills, often you don\u2019t catch up.<\/p>\n<p>By the time you\u2019re 11 you\u2019re on a different path to your better off classmates, by the time you\u2019re 16 and leaving school \u2013 you\u2019re in a totally different place.<\/p>\n<p>And once you enter the workforce, you may well have fallen too far behind to even think about competing for the most rewarding jobs. And, worst of all it\u2019s always been like that for some people and some places in Britain.<\/p>\n<p>But it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n<p>And if we want to move things on from purely discussing the problem to articulating a real solution then we have to start by asking why haven\u2019t we cracked it already? Why has social mobility been static for so long?<\/p>\n<p>And I think it comes down to a number of things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>A simplistic search for the silver bullet policy, a magic wand that grants equality of opportunity at a stroke.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The fact that so many worthy social mobility initiatives have been driven by government alone. And that has meant chopping and changing on policy \u2013 with no longevity to any approach.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>There\u2019s been insufficient involvement from businesses, employers \u2013 who are, in any country, the opportunity makers.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Too often improving social mobility has been done to local communities rather than with them. We\u2019ve had one size fits all policies, when what works in Derby is often, generally, going to be different to what works in Scarborough.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>And for an individual, government\u2019s attempts to improve their prospects have tended to come at sporadic moments in their life \u2013 sometimes when it\u2019s already too late.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 id=\"a-new-approach\">A new approach<\/h4>\n<p>So how do we move towards a solution?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m an optimist \u2013 I was optimistic about what I could achieve in my life and I\u2019m optimistic about us changing the status quo in Britain today, and making sure that every child can go as far as their talent and hard work takes them.<\/p>\n<p>To achieve this, I believe we need a new approach that\u2019s:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Comprehensive \u2013 not just one silver bullet, but a portfolio, a strategy.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>An approach that works across someone\u2019s whole life.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>A national strategy \u2013 but tailored for different local areas.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>And a common mission that is shared not just by government but also by business, civil society and communities.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And today, I\u2019m launching a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/improving-social-mobility-through-education\">plan<\/a> which puts improving social mobility at the heart of all our education policy, for the first time. Schools and teachers are at the centre of this but they can\u2019t tackle this on their own.<\/p>\n<p>This will be driven by a Department for Education that finally now has all the right pieces under the same roof: from early years, to schools, to universities, to technical education, to apprenticeships, to adult learning.<\/p>\n<p>And our plan doesn\u2019t shy away from the complexities of tackling social mobility but it does put a structure, an architecture to it, to enable us to work in a more coordinated way.<\/p>\n<p>So how does it fit together?<\/p>\n<p>This plan is about education but it sits alongside wider Government efforts to create jobs, invest in housing and our new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/policies\/industrial-strategy\">Industrial Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Crucially, the overarching ambition of this plan is to leave no community behind. We will relentlessly target effort and resources at the parts of our country where people have the toughest challenges and fewest opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m talking about those places where disadvantage builds and then accumulates. Where the schools and colleges struggle. Teachers aren\u2019t attracted to work there, businesses don\u2019t grow and invest there because there isn\u2019t a ready-made skilled workforce on their doorstep.<\/p>\n<p>And so talented young people, and these communities produce every bit as much talent as many others, have to leave to find opportunity elsewhere and the place stays as it was and local businesses still don\u2019t do any better.<\/p>\n<p>We need to reverse these negative cycles and that starts with education.<\/p>\n<p>Right now we are now investing \u00a341 billion in schools and that\u2019s due to go up. Resourcing does matter. If we could buy our way out of this problem we\u2019d have done it by now \u2013 but I\u2019m determined to be more strategic about that investment and make sure our resources are targeted at those communities and schools that need them most.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ll be targeting over \u00a3800 million of our current investment towards the more disadvantaged  people and places.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m clear that this is the right thing to do \u2013 because everyone deserves a fair shot in life.<\/p>\n<p>But unlocking Britain\u2019s hidden talent is also the smart thing if we want to build a Britain that\u2019s fit for the future. It\u2019s an economic imperative as well as a social one.<\/p>\n<p>Because if we could even just improve the attainment of disadvantaged children across the whole country  to the same level as disadvantaged children in London, this alone would provide a boost of more than \u00a320 billion to our economy.<\/p>\n<p>And, ultimately, there is no question that if we\u2019re going to make the most of ourselves as a country, and make Brexit a success then we need to make sure every person and every place is fulfilling its potential.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"lifestage-ambitions\">Lifestage ambitions<\/h4>\n<p>So all that means that no community left behind is our first overarching ambition. We will also take a whole life approach with four core life stage ambitions for overcoming disadvantage at every stage of someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p>These ambitions are logical, they may seem obvious \u2013 but in the past we haven\u2019t structured our work together like this. And if we achieve them, we can change this country for the better.<\/p>\n<p>So, Ambition One starts at the beginning with the early years, improving early language and literacy so all children have the best start to their education, and can get on the right path, literally from day one.<\/p>\n<p>And the research is clear \u2013 falling behind early on has a profound impact. Some children simply have less vocabulary, less reading ability, poorer language skills, so they can\u2019t understand as much when they get to school and they can\u2019t communicate as well as they need to.<\/p>\n<p>And, actually, it is incredibly difficult for them to ever to catch up. If you\u2019re not at the expected standard in language aged 5 then you\u2019re eleven times less likely to achieve the expected level in maths at age 11.<\/p>\n<p>That is why I am putting early language and literacy, closing the word gap, right at the top of my to do list.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re introducing new English hubs that will train specialist teachers in literacy and closing the word gap \u2013 these specialists will focus on the schools that need this most, in the most disadvantaged areas of the country.<\/p>\n<p>Today I\u2019m also announcing \u00a350 million investment for nurseries in schools, which will be targeted at disadvantaged children so that the children who can benefit the most from high quality provision have more high quality places available.<\/p>\n<p>We are also investing \u00a320 million in the development of early years professionals.<\/p>\n<p>And we will mobilise others who are in a position to help. We will train Health Visitors who routinely check on a child\u2019s health at the age of two, on how to identify children who are already getting left behind on language skills \u2013 and how to support the parents who, overwhelmingly, want to do their best for their children but need to know better how.<\/p>\n<p>Ambition Two and we move into school years, a more established part of the strategy. Closing the attainment gap, and making sure every child is at a good school where they can achieve their true potential.<\/p>\n<p>We start here from a strong base \u2013 the reforms we\u2019ve made over the last seven years have transformed much of the education system.<\/p>\n<p>And standards are rising:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>There are an 1.9 million more children in good or outstanding schools since 2010.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>And thanks to our increased emphasis on phonics pupils in English schools are rising up the international league table in reading and literacy.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But it\u2019s not everywhere and it\u2019s not for every child.<\/p>\n<p>In eleven London boroughs all children attend a good or outstanding secondary school; but only one in five pupils in Blackpool and Knowsley do.<\/p>\n<p>This is a systemic problem and to change things we need to shift our focus. By investing in the teaching, the professionals on the frontline \u2013 developing the home grown teaching talent that\u2019s already there and is the key to school improvement. And tomorrow I\u2019ll be launching a consultation on strengthening Qualified Teacher Status.<\/p>\n<p>And we will make schools in the more challenged areas real career hotspots by investing in the development of the teachers who go to build a career there.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ll do more to make sure our strongest tools for school improvement are targeted towards the areas that need the most.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, we\u2019re working on a new targeted approach for the most vulnerable children \u2013 Looked After Children, Children in Need, Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. It\u2019s not acceptable that these children\u2019s life chances are so much worse than their peers \u2013 they deserve a fair chance, like everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>And for those bright children from less well off backgrounds who need a bit of extra help to fulfil their potential, I\u2019m announcing a \u00a323 million Future Talent programme, something I know the Sutton Trust has called for, for some time.<\/p>\n<p>The attainment gap is closing but with our Ambition Two we need to work out how to close it once and for all.<\/p>\n<p>Ambition Three is improving post 16 choices so all young people have the world class skills and qualifications to get on.<\/p>\n<p>A key area here is technical education. We know that for too long, too many students going to Further Education colleges to gain a vocational or technical qualification have had to settle for second best.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve had to navigate between thousands and thousands of possible qualifications \u2013 many of which hold little value to employers and don\u2019t actually lead to the job they were hoping for.<\/p>\n<p>And this, disproportionately, affects the most left behind places and people. Just under 75% of young people in Barnsley do Further Education \u2013 whereas in Kensington it\u2019s 20%.<\/p>\n<p>So in the greatest shake-up of Technical Education in 70 years we are introducing new T-Levels for 16 to 19 year olds, a proper, high quality alternative to A-Levels focused on routes to skilled employment. These will be backed by \u00a3500 million investment per year, and goes alongside our wider investment in apprenticeships and new Institutes of Technology.<\/p>\n<p>And this is fundamental: unless we can strengthen post 16 education routes and make them gold standard for all our young people we won\u2019t crack social mobility and we won\u2019t make the most of our investment in those young people whilst they\u2019re in schools and early years.<\/p>\n<p>In summary \u2013 no more compromising on quality in Technical Education.<\/p>\n<p>Ambition Four is making sure everyone can make smart career choices and progress in their careers so when young people do make the leap from education to the job market, it\u2019s about more than just going into \u2018work\u2019. It\u2019s about a career, not just a job.<\/p>\n<p>In the past, this has been an area where we\u2019ve essentially let people walk down a career of blind alleys \u2013 and not just at age 16 or 18. We haven\u2019t offered enough guidance or support to people in work either.<\/p>\n<p>And so too many people don\u2019t get on the career path they\u2019d like or that would suit or stretch them, because they lack the networks, the smart advice, the life skills and the confidence that employers look for.<\/p>\n<p>So instead of careers with progression, these people end up trapped in low paying jobs.<\/p>\n<p>We all lose from this.<\/p>\n<p>Because Britain needs more skilled workers. We need more trained engineers, more modern construction workers, more coders.<\/p>\n<p>But you can\u2019t aim for an opportunity if you don\u2019t know it exists \u2013 and that\u2019s why we need businesses to show people the path forward into careers that they never thought were for people like them.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside our Ambition 3, work on technical education, it\u2019s why for the first time my department is building an unprecedented partnership with businesses up and down the country,<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s why we held our first ever <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/justine-greening-hosts-first-ever-dfe-skills-summit\">Skills Summit<\/a> with major employers at the DfE two weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>And I believe business is up for this. In fact, we\u2019ve got leading businesses and employers who are Skills Partners \u2013 committed to work with us.<\/p>\n<p>And we will work together to create millions of career encounters for students, thousands of technical work placements, 3 million apprenticeships, many more in work retraining opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>To achieve all this we must inspire, incentivise and also insist businesses of all sizes to reach out to the places that need the most support, following the example of businesses like KPMG who are second in the Social Mobility Employers Index.<\/p>\n<p>All of this is a journey \u2013 but we have already made a start.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"a-common-ambition\">A common ambition<\/h4>\n<p>This leads me into my final point. This needs to be for everyone, everywhere, delivered by everybody.<\/p>\n<p>This plan I\u2019m launching today is a call to arms to join our national mission: to make a better offer to everyone growing up in this country,<\/p>\n<p>To make life about what you can be \u2013 not where or how you start. For everyone to have the chance to become the best version of themselves.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve said that social mobility initiatives in the past have had no longevity \u2013 that\u2019s why this time we want to focus on building lasting success through partnership.<\/p>\n<p>And so I\u2019m asking employers, education professionals, communities, voluntary groups and many more to come together and join a united effort to put social mobility at the heart of your work.<\/p>\n<p>This partnership is particularly vital at local level, and I believe we can already point to places where working in Partnership works.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve established local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/plans-launched-to-drive-social-mobility-in-opportunity-areas\">Opportunity Areas<\/a> in 12 of the places where poor social mobility is most entrenched, bringing together local schools, colleges, local businesses and local authorities to work with us and identify some of the key problems in their areas; be that the lack of good careers advice or too many children starting school behind on their vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>And they\u2019re coming up with practical, concrete solutions and priorities. This is what we need \u2013 last mile politics, with national policy, but tailored at a local level and making sure it works in practice.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s great to have some of the chairs and board members from Opportunity Areas here today. Thank you for everything you are already doing.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h4>\n<p>In conclusion, we all know what the prize is here. It\u2019s every young person with opportunity on their doorstep \u2013 so they don\u2019t have to move away from their roots to find it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s communities feeling they have an actual stake in this country, an equal shot \u2013 no longer having to watch their best talent get up and go.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s businesses having the skilled workers they need to create prosperity and compete. It\u2019s our economy finally operating to its true potential \u2013 a post-Brexit Britain that leads the world in skills, productivity and prosperity.<\/p>\n<p>This is about lifting all of us up, smoothing the path for everyone \u2013 it\u2019s all of us doing better. I believe, together, we can do something transformative.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve said social mobility has been an important part of my own life. And one of the key things I\u2019ve learnt is that optimism matters. A belief you can get to where you want to be.<\/p>\n<p>I have optimism now that as a country we can crack this and get to where we need to be. It will take collective determination, persistence, single-mindedness, sheer bloody-mindedness. And an unbreakable conviction that things can change.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how I think about this, that\u2019s how I feel about this. If you care too, if you want equality of opportunity, now is the moment and you need to get involved.<\/p>\n<p>I want everyone to get on board. But for those who want to stay focused on talking about the problem rather than helping with solutions, I ask just one thing \u2013 don\u2019t complain change isn\u2019t happening fast enough.<\/p>\n<p>I want the widest coalition possible, one that goes way beyond government. It\u2019s decision time if you want to play your part.<\/p>\n<p>No country has got this right yet \u2013 but Britain can lead the way.<\/p>\n<p>This should be what we stand for in the 21st century. A country like no other that has unlocked the talents of everyone for the benefit of all. It is possible, and it is now time to make it a reality.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Education Secretary unveils plan to provide opportunities on every young person&#8217;s doorstep in a speech at the inaugural Reform social mobility conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87302"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87302\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}