Teachers need to take a “positive attitude” towards young people’s aspirations to get into top universities, the chancellor of the University of Oxford has said.
Speaking at a House of Lords debate on social mobility and the Sutton Trust’s Mobility Manifesto, Lord Patten said that the government alone was not responsible for tackling social mobility.
He said: “Government is not the only body responsible for promoting social equality and social growth. Two bodies in particular spring to mind. The importance of the teaching profession taking a positive attitude towards young people’s aspirations to get into our top universities and not saying, ‘This is not for you, it’s not for people from your background or your region.’
“I believe that the teaching profession bodies, trade unions, teacher training colleges must be much more positive in promoting aspiration in young people, that’s not something in government’s hands.”
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The Sutton Trust’s Mobility Manifesto proposed 10 steps the government should take in order to address widening social inequality in the UK. One of them was increasing the number of degree and higher level apprenticeships as an alternative to university. They also suggested that contextual admissions should be used by “highly-selective universities to open up access to students from less privileged backgrounds”.
In the same debate, Baroness Garden of Frognal called for data on free school meals and Pupil Premium to be available for admissions tutors.
She also stressed the importance of promoting work-based vocational skills.
“I have a perpetual concern that the government’s obsession with academic achievement at school marginalises many young people whose skills and interests lie in practical, work-based fields.
“What is the government doing to encourage aspiration in work-based skills in the compulsory years of education? For young people to have social mobility they must first have confidence in their ability to be worthwhile citizens,” she said.
Baroness Tyler of Enfield, who tabled the debate at the House of Lords, said that the key to improving social mobility was a “sustained, cross-government approach with strong political will and clear delivery mechanisms”.
She highlighted the “huge disparities in funding” between higher education and further education, said that those who study at FE colleges get a “really raw deal” and called for increased funding for the sector.
“We welcomed the chancellor’s announcement last year, but this was only a one-year package, and focused on some very specific areas of funding. I’m calling on the government again today to prioritise long-term sustainable funding increases for FE in this year’s funding review.”
She also called on the government to introduce a Pupil Premium for 16- to 19-year-olds.
