White working-class children are being failed by the British state, a damning inquiry has confirmed.
The Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes has ruled that an overhaul of the education system is required to mend a broken system.
The probe, which began last summer, revealed the state “is not serving the interests of white working-class children”.
The investigation, which assessed thousands of students, examined why white working-class youngsters fell into the lowest-performing large demographic across England.
Inquiry co-chair Baroness Estelle Morris shifted the blame from the children, as well as teaching staff, insisting that responsibility “cannot sit with schools alone”.
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson lamented that the youths had been “robbed of opportunity”, adding: “The communities in this report are my communities.
“I know what they’ve given this country and what this country has failed to give back.”
The inquiry was commissioned by the multi-academy trust Star Academies, backed by the Department for Education.
White working-class children are being failed by the state, the inquiry revealed
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Along with Sir Hamid Patel, Baroness Morris added that the findings “cannot be explained away by low aspiration or lack of effort”.
The pair said that, to combat the issues, a “sustained national effort over many years” would be required.
They said: “The challenge set out in this report is significant. But so too is the opportunity.
“Every child in this country deserves to feel that education is for them, that their future matters, and that success is achievable regardless of where they come from.”
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As well as thousands of pupils, their parents and hundreds of school teachers were included in the analysis.
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