Policy brief October 2013
TOO YOUNG TO FAIL
CLOSING THE EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT
GAP IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Save the Children calls on the Northern Ireland Executive to:
• prioritise closing the education achievement gap as an economic
imperative by 2020
• focus investment on children’s early years and hold schools more
accountable for closing the gap
• invest in programmes to enable parents to support their children’s
learning.
At every stage of schooling, Northern Ireland’s poorest children are likely to do worse and
make less progress than their better-off classmates; and the gap is widening. 1 This stark
educational achievement gap represents a huge cost to Northern Ireland. It serves to deny
many poor children their right to an effective education and the skills to participate in a
democratic society. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reports that closing the gap
to match the Finnish levels of achievement would be worth £8 trillion to the UK economy
over the lifetime of a child born today – gold dust in a struggling economy. 2 Others estimate
that success in closing the gap in Northern Ireland would have resulted in increased
economic gains of around £400 million in 2013, rising to £1.3 billion by 2030. 3
Education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalised children
can change their lives, lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate
fully in their communities. 4 The children starting primary school this year have grown up in
an economic recession. We cannot let the ‘age of austerity’ define this generation’s
educational achievement. Major changes to the education system are required in order to
ensure that all children get the start in life they need to shine.
MAPPING THE GAP
The chances of starting school ready to learn are worse for children from the poorest
households. A child’s brain undergoes its most rapid growth in the years before schooling
begins and research has shown that children living in poverty often start school at an
academic disadvantage. By the age of three a significant gap in vocabulary and cognitive test
scores can already be measured between low-income children and their more affluent
peers. 5
This gap persists as children progress through school. There is a close correlation between
low levels of academic achievement and free school meal entitlement (FSME), a strong
indicator of social deprivation. Almost one-fifth of all P7 pupils fail to achieve the level
expected of their age group in English and maths. 6 By age 16, the proportion of FSME
children failing to achieve expected levels has declined. Poorer children do much worse –
only 31.7% of FSME school leavers achieve at least 5 GCSEs at A*–C standard (including
English and mathematics), compared to 65.1% of those without FSME. 7
The social and economic costs of this achievement gap should not be underestimated. The
Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) recently lamented the “unacceptably large numbers
of pupils [who] are failing to achieve even minimal levels in literacy and numeracy”, and
stressed the urgency of closing the gap “in order to improve the life chances of our young
people and to ensure that our economy is well equipped to compete in an increasingly
global market place.” 8
According to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), “around £370 million will have been
spent on the 9,000 pupils who leave full-time education without the required standard for
further education or employment.” 9
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In 2012, in order to analyse the alignment between stated departmental priorities, such as
closing the achievement gap, and funding allocations, the Education Minister appointed an
independent panel to review the Common Funding Scheme, which determines how funds
are allocated to schools. The panel’s report, known as the Salisbury Review, noted its
concerns about the minimal difference in per capita funding between primary schools with
affluent intakes and those with socially deprived intakes – despite commitments to bridge
the achievement gap and to increase early investment in poorer children. 10
The resulting funding reform consultation proposes acceptance of most of the Salisbury
Review recommendations, including:
•
•
•
an emphasis on early intervention to direct more future funding to primary and
nursery schools
providing additional funding targeted at low-income pupils and schools with a high
number of disadvantaged pupils
holding schools to account for how they use the additional support to improve
outcomes of the most disadvantaged pupils and better monitoring procedures. 11
Save the Children welcomes these recommendations. In order to hold schools accountable
for closing the gap at the primary school level, we recommend the collection of better data
to enable FSME target–setting at Key Stages 1 & 2.
The education department has affirmed that “education and learning begins at birth”. 12
Given the gap in children’s development by the age of three, Save the Children urges the
highest priority is given to the development of a fit-for-purpose early childhood education
and care model. We recommend the Executive appoints a panel – to consider the structure
and funding the model requires. In the meantime we urge progress on the early years and
childcare strategies and the expansion of Sure Start.
LESSONS FROM FINLAND
According to the CBI, raising the performance of UK schools to match that of Finland on core
subjects could have a value of more than £8 trillion over the lifetime of a child born today. 13 Finland
consistently ranks at the top of the international education league table and the World Economic
Forum’s global competitiveness index. 14 According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development, this is because no other country “has so little variation in outcomes between
schools, and the gap within schools between the top and bottom-achieving students is
extraordinarily modest as well. Finnish schools seem to serve all students well regardless of family
background or socio-economic status.” 15
In the wake of the collapse of the Finnish economy in the early 1990s, the government focused on
increasing competitiveness through innovation, information and knowledge. 16 Partnerships between
industry and education were created, with emphasis on STEM subjects 17, creativity and problemsolving. These reforms built on other characteristics of the education system – its full-service
comprehensive model; the professional autonomy of highly qualified teachers; the inclusion of most
special needs children; and the emphasis on helping students assess their own learning to enable
them to take charge of their individual study plans and work collaboratively on cross-curricular
projects.
Finland offers learning about the potential of taking a strategic approach to education reform.
Lessons from Finland and Iceland suggest that the fiscal multiplier for spending on education,
healthcare and social protection is many times greater than that for money poured into other
sectors. 18 Scandinavian countries that adopted this approach have seen their economies improve.
WORKING TOGETHER BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES
The education to which every child has a right “goes far beyond formal schooling to
embrace the broad range of life experiences and learning processes which enable children,
individually and collectively, to develop their personalities, talents and abilities and to live a
full and satisfying life within society.” 19
Research has shown that around 80% of the difference in how well children do at school is
dependent on what happens beyond the school gates, 20 whether in the home or in the
wider community. As highlighted in the recent Chief Inspector’s Report, children benefit
from programmes that encourage the involvement of parents and carers and partnership
working between children, parents, the community and educational organisations. 21 The
importance of creating partnerships and fostering these relationships has been further
emphasised in recent reports by the CBI, the PAC and the NIAO.
The PAC suggests that the education department should “establish a clear strategy for
parental engagement to ensure that all schools have clear procedures for communicating
and engaging with parents and the community.” 22 The CBI recommends a strategy for
“harnessing” parental engagement and wider community involvement, including links with
business. 23
In 2013 alone, Save the Children will invest £450,000 through its Families and Schools
Together (FAST) partnership programme in primary schools across Northern Ireland. This
award-winning parental support and empowerment programme encourages parents to
support their children’s education and helps break down perceived barriers between
schools, parents and the wider community. The NIAO report argues that huge gains in
literacy and numeracy can be made if parents receive more encouragement to work with
schools in support of their children’s education and provide educational development in the
home. It cites Save the Children’s FAST partnership as an example of a successful parental
engagement programme. 24
Given these findings, Save the Children urges investment in evidenced-based programmes to
enable parents to support their children’s learning.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the evidence suggests that closing the education achievement gap requires early
intervention, accountability and partnerships between children, parents, teachers and the
wider community. A comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach is essential to achieving
educational equality for all children.
The Northern Ireland Executive holds the future of children of the recession in its hands.
We call on the Executive to follow the example set by the Finnish government and adopt a
strategic and forward-thinking approach to closing the achievement gap. The prize is great –
not only huge economic gains, but also a highly educated and more equal society, free of
child poverty.
This is the real gold dust. We all do better when we're equal. 25
Endnotes
1
The Public Accounts Committee Report on Improving Literacy and Numeracy Achievement in Schools, NIA
116/11-15, June 2013, p8
2
First Steps: A new approach for our schools, CBI, Nov 2012, p12
3
These figures have been calculated based on the work of Eric Hanushek and Ludger Wößmann of Stanford
University and an approach developed by McKinsey, in McKinsey & Company (2009) The Economic Impact of
the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools
4
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 13
5 C Carter-Wall and G Whitfield, The Role of Aspirations, Attitudes and Behaviour in Closing the Educational
Attainment Gap, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2012, p2, http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/educationachievement-poverty-summary.pdf
6
The Education and Training Inspectorate, Chief Inspector’s Report 2010–2012, p46
http://www.etini.gov.uk/index/support-material/support-material-general-documents-non-phase-related/thechief-inspectors-report/ci-report-2012.pdf
7 The Independent Review of the Common Funding Scheme, Jan 2013, pp74-75
http://www.deni.gov.uk/independent-review-of-cfs.pdf
8
Improving Literacy and Numeracy in Schools, NIAO 19 February 2013, http://www.niauditoffice.gov.uk/a-toz.htm/improving_literacy_and_numeracy_achievement_in_schools_2. In addition, the report highlights the
‘strong correlation between the levels of academic achievement and free school meal entitlement, p2.
9
The PAC report, June 2013, p8. The total average cost of providing an individual pupil with 12 years of
compulsory education is £41,958. In 2010–11, 9,000 pupils left full-time education without achieving the
required standard for further education or employment. Therefore, around £370 million will have been spent
on the 9,000 pupils who leave full-time education without achieving the required standard for further
education or employment
10
The Independent Review of the Common Funding Scheme Jan 2013, p38
11
Putting Pupils First - Reforming the Common Funding Scheme. Department of Education, June 2013
12
Learning to Learn, DENI, Dec 2012, p18
13
First Steps: A new approach to our schools, CBI, Nov 2012, p12
14
Best practice? Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the United States,
OECD, 2011, p121 http://www.oecd.org/pisa/46623978.pdf
15
Ibid
16
Ibid
17
The STEM subjects are science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
18
D Stuckler and S Basu, ‘The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills’, May 2013
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/may/15/recessions-hurt-but-austerity-kills. Iceland suffered the worst
banking crisis in history but has protected its people when they needed it most and is now booming – GDP
growth is above 4% and unemployment is back below 4%.
19
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001) General Comment No.1 (2001) Article 29(1): The Aims of
Education, CRC/GC/2001/1, para 2.
20
J Rasbash et al (2010) ‘Children’s educational progress: partitioning family, school and area effects’, Journal of
the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), Volume 173, Issue 3, p659.
21
The Education and Training Inspectorate, Chief Inspector’s Report 2010–2012, p26
22
The PAC Report, June 2013 p5. The report also suggests that the Department “consider building on
programmes such as the Extended Schools Initiative which seek to extend the role and capacity of schools so
that they work more like ‘community schools’, as part of a network of other schools and community
agencies.”
23
First Steps: A new approach for our schools, CBI, Nov 2012, p43
24
NIAO Report, February 2013, p50
25
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, The Spirit Level, 2009
For further information, contact:
Orlaith Minogue
Child Rights and Education Policy Co-ordinator
[email protected]
Anne Moore
Policy and Assembly Co-ordinator
[email protected]
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We fight for their rights. We help them achieve their potential.
Contacts:
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