Bold action on school admissions and catchments is needed, according to a letter signed by 26 academics and sent to Brighton and Hove City Council.
The signatories, many of them local and with expertise in education or related subjects, said that they “hold varying views on specific implementation details of the (council) proposals”.
But they all urge the council to promote socially mixed schools, while “striking a balance between meaningful parental choice and equity” and “taking systematic and collective action to reduce educational inequality”.
The academics echo points made by the campaign group Class Divide which has been pushing for policy changes to boost the educational and life chances of children from Whitehawk and east Brighton.
Labour councillor Emma Daniel, the council’s cabinet member for children and families, said “It’s encouraging to see support for the principles underlying our school admissions plans from so many academics within the field.
“We think our plans are a fair and reasonable step in the right direction for the city.”
Sara Bragg, associate professor in sociology of education at UCL, said “The voices of academics with specific expertise in education and its inequities have not been prominent in the public debate.
“Academics are of course as likely as anyone to recognise the challenges and complexities of addressing intractable issues. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see a council recognising and attempting to find solutions.”
Dr Bragg, who lives in Brighton, added: “We hope that the policies will be rigorously researched and evaluated to provide insight for policy makers and local authorities around the country.”
Class Divide said: “Twenty-six prominent academics have signed an open letter to Brighton and Hove City Council and local MPs in response to the council’s plans on catchment areas, school sustainability, and social diversity in local schools.
“The academics, with expertise in education and related fields including geographies, many of whom are based at the University of Sussex and / or are local residents, state that bold steps are needed to reduce persistent educational inequities but that they are rarely taken.”
As well as Sussex, the signatories include professors and other academics from the Institute of Education at UCL, London, as well as Cambridge, Bath and Durham universities.
The letter, addressed to all councillors and local MPs, said: “We write in response to plans proposed by Brighton and Hove City Council in relation to catchment areas, school sustainability and social diversity in local schools.
“As academics and researchers in education and related fields, we are aware that bold steps are needed to reduce persistent educational inequities – but that they are rarely taken.
“In the UK, educational attainment continues to be closely linked to socio-economic background. Research by the Sutton Trust has long shown that what are deemed the country’s most ‘successful’ comprehensive state schools are also relatively more socially exclusive.
“Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that school choice environment is related to levels of social segregation and that English schools are more segregated by income than Scottish schools.
“The existence of a premium on housing near popular schools, due to geographic catchment areas, is also established.
“Britain is already a highly segregated society and has the most socially segregated system of education in Europe according to Professor Danny Dorling.
“Research also shows that schools with high concentrations of pupils from under-resourced backgrounds have many challenges not faced by schools with more privileged intakes.
“These include teacher recruitment and retention, less access to the resources and support offered by parents from more privileged backgrounds (eg, as fundraisers or governors), and constant decisions about resource allocation that are not fully addressed by the Pupil Premium.
“Despite their often-remarkable work against these odds, they may consequently suffer from stigma and poor reputations locally, in ways that also impact their students.
“All these could be said to be true of some schools in Brighton and Hove. The damage of social segregation has been linked to worse pupil outcomes overall, lower aspirations, less ethnic and social cohesion and reduced trust in society by students.
“One way to ‘improve’ schools (eg, in terms of overall attainment) and provide other benefits in terms of cross-cultural understanding, reducing stigma, etc, can be to promote a more diverse social mix.
“Reforms also need to offer greater opportunities for a larger number of young people. This does not mean that pupils from well-resourced backgrounds lose out.
“Danny Dorling’s research shows that having a low level of variation between school outcomes (that is, where all schools serve mixed communities) tends to place a country near the top of the education league table, as has been the case with Finland.
“While the signatories of this letter may hold varying views on specific implementation details of the BHCC proposals, we endorse the principles of
• promoting socially mixed schools
• striking a balance between meaningful parental choice and equity
• taking systematic and collective action to reduce educational inequality
“These principles may take courage to enact, but we believe attempts to do so should be supported, researched, evaluated and developed to inspire further change.”
A full list of the signatories can be found here.
“These principles may take courage to enact, but we believe attempts to do so should be supported, researched, evaluated and developed to inspire further change.”
The academics were very wise to not endorse the proposals. I am quite certain many have not seen their detail to evaluate them and would be shocked at what is being implemented without a rigorous study of their potential impacts. I absolutely agree with them on these principles, as do most parents who are opposed to the disastrous proposals and shambles of process that has been completed in the last three months. Unfortunately, the lead councillors and the campaign groups egging them on have failed to evaluate and develop the interventions with adequate testing and scrutiny. They are just doing them first and seeing what happens. It now looks like they are doing these changes for political reasons, in stark contrast to what these academics have suggested we should do responsibly. Long term, as the academics know, this will just kick good policy and a true reduction of inequality into the long grass. Social inequality will persist for our city in the short and long term. Academics including environmental scientists, educational psychologists and geographers should have been involved properly from the start.
It should be noted that this letter was drafted by Sara Bragg a member of the campaign group class divide who are in support of these changes.. It should also be noted that all 6 local authority secondary schools in Brighton collectively wrote a letter opposing the councils proposals.
Myths and truths are so last year…… it’s ‘lies and facts’ that need to be clarified in the context of this debacle.
A number of people have been in touch with the signatories of this letter, a number of whom have confirmed in writing that they they do not endorse the council’s proposals.
Indeed, a few were quite surprised to find out that their signatures are being used to promote the changes! Myths and truths are so last year…… it’s ‘lies and facts’ that need to be clarified in the context of this debacle.
It should also be noted a number of people have been in touch with the signatories of this letter, a number of whom have confirmed in writing that they they do not endorse the council’s proposals.
Indeed, a few were quite surprised to find out that their signatures are being used to promote the changes!