“Genes Linked to Educational Attainment & Adult SES Across Birth Cohorts”: @hdobewall.bsky.social, @mariavaalavuo.bsky.social et al. examine whether genetic endowment for high education is assoc. with subsequent socioeconomic outcomes. @invest-flagship.bsky.social read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...
Applications open for Lords Social Mobility Work Experience Programme 9 April 2026
Great opportunity for year 12 students to do work experience at the House of Lords. Apply by 22 April
www.parliament.uk/business/new...
Sad to see
Now is the winter of our discount eggs
Online hostility is predicted by economic & political inequality
Inequality breeds online hostility because people crave status in unequal societies and status-seekers constitute the main perpetrators of hostility in political settings, whether online or offline.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
NEW: 10 key findings about the outcomes of initially high-achieving children from disadvantaged backgrounds - with John Jerrim and Maria Palma Carvajal
This post brings together some of the “greatest hits” from across this research project.
ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2026/04/10-k...
A brilliant internship opportunity at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk is open for applications! Join the IfG's year-long research programme and get the chance to carry out research, conduct interviews, run data analysis and more across their different teams!
Apply now: bit.ly/47Duy3f
Graduates who grew up in deep poverty still earn £2,800 less than their peers 10 years on, even if they earn the same degree, and do the same job in the same firm.
Read 'The long shadow' here 👉 buff.ly/5VfX2Fi
Good crowd this morning at the launch of our new report on SEND, disadvantage and inclusion! Our great school engagement lead @charleyo.bsky.social presenting!
www.suttontrust.com/our-research...
Some fairly shocking stats in today's report on SEND and disadvantage in school admissions. It appears that socio-economic disadvantage is driving gaps in SEND admissions to high performing schools.
🚨 NEW: Top performing secondary schools are effectively shutting out disadvantaged pupils with special educational needs.
Our new polling suggests this is often a deliberate strategy to limit the numbers of these pupils coming through their school gates 🧵⤵️
Great piece by @pollytoynbee.bsky.social on enduring inequities in early years education: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A really fantastic evening celebrating Lindsey's amazing achievements as a researcher, a policy adviser and as a person!
✍ "If the government are going to achieve their mission of breaking down barriers to opportunity, successful SEND reform is absolutely key."
@carlcullinane.bsky.social discusses the Government's new proposals to reform the SEND system in @labourlist.bsky.social ⤵️
labourlist.org/2026/02/send...
Wrote about the SEND reforms for @labourlist.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/02/send...
No doubt the main thing on Labour minds this morning...
On a positive note, it was great to see the @suttontrust.bsky.social 's Fair School Admissions Pledge work recognised! @charleyo.bsky.social has done sterling work with schools, MATs and local authorities across the country on this over the last few years.
well for intakes with high levels of disadvantage and/or SEND should be celebrated and learned from. This is a vital piece of the jigsaw if we're going to halve the attainment gap.
The White Paper and accompanying consultation suggests the govt get this, but they do need to go further.
Context and intake need to be taken into greater account in Ofsted inspections, and an alternative measure of Progress 8 should be introduced when P8 returns in 2027, which adjusts scores for the characteristics of a school intake. You can contextualise without lowering standards. Schools which do
b) substantive reform to an accountability system (both Ofsted and league tables) that currently disincentivises inclusion. The performance measures consultation doesn't look like it goes far enough if we really want to disincentivise schools from curating their intake and off-rolling come exam time
Two areas where the White Paper falls short are in admissions and accountability. If we want a more inclusive system, then there needs to be either a) significant reform to school admissions (in particular requiring oversubscribed schools to prioritise disadvantaged applicants), or
Will be vital that Mission North East & Mission Coastal learn from the best (and not so best) of previous place based initiatives, from the various 'challenges' outside London, to Opportunity Areas, to Education Investment Areas. The combination of sustained national support with local buy in is key
Interesting to see the re-emergence of place based thinking in the White Paper today. In our Opportunity Index, the North East had the lowest average ranking of any English region. Coastal areas, if they were a region, would have been 2nd lowest. Interactive here: www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
Following "Educational Excellence Everywhere" (2016), "Schools that Work for Everyone" (2016), and "Opportunity for All" (2022). Looking forward to the next one, "Schools: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once"
🚨New research shows children from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to benefit from a private tutor than more affluent peers.
This is despite strong evidence that one-to-one and small group tuition improves attainment, with disadvantaged pupils standing to benefit most.
Good piece. Grad tax far from a straightforward answer, but the current situation is a complete mess. Some of the magical thinking of the last decade has been brought back to earth by a combination of the ONS, inflation, and Plan 2 graduates reaching an age where they've become politically relevant.
Delighted that we at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk are once again supporting this annual online event aimed at reaching people currently under-represented in the think tank sector… please share with your networks…
Bafflingly regressive
The increase in tuition fees has been mixed from the point of access and participation
On the one hand the participation rate amg low income students has roughly doubled (to 30%)
On the other hand the participation *gap* btw free school meal pupil & their more advantaged peers hasnt budged (20 pp)
If we want to make places better, we need to create good jobs in them 👇
Creating good jobs (in deprived) areas requires:
- Transport infrastructure
- Creating places that are nice to live in. Culture matters for local growth
- Direct job creation by the state
h/t @drjennings.bsky.social