Too many schoolchildren in the north of England are falling behind pupils in other parts of the country, a new report has warned.
The report by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership claims disadvantaged schoolchildren in the north of England are falling on average one GCSE grade behind the rest of the country.
It highlights the ‘urgent need’ for central government, councils and businesses to work ‘as one’ in helping young people and creating a skilled workforce, which it says could help boost the UK economy by an additional £100bn by 2050.
The report calls on the government to provide extra resources and create ‘place-based funds’ integrated with other services to make sure children are school-ready by the age of five.
It also recommends devolving adult education funding to the directly-elected metro mayors in the region.
The report also calls on every business in the region to play its part and mentor the same number of young people as they have employees.
According to the report, this would give 900,000 young people an experience of work and help them prepare for life after education.
And it also calls on ministers to reform the pupil premium scheme and allocate more to pupils eligible for free school meals, which it says will help address one of the ‘most entrenched barriers to social mobility’.
Many of the leading universities and businesses in the north are already embracing apprenticeships, according to the report, but more need to make full use of the apprenticeship levy.
It says that one in four northern secondary schools are judged by Ofsted as inadequate or requiring improvement, with children 13 points, or one whole grade behind at GCSE compared to those in London.
‘This report should act as a wake-up call to everyone involved in education and skills in realising how far the north is behind the rest of the UK and where we need to get to,’ said Collette Roche, who led the review group.
‘The devastating consequences of disadvantage in the north is fully set out, as is just how far our children from all backgrounds fall behind by the age of 16.
‘These critical issues lead to employers not having a highly-skilled workforce, which is vital for increasing productivity and growth across the north,’ added Ms Roche.
‘Our 14 specific and bold recommendations challenge the government, local authorities, businesses and others to invest in our children and young people, to ensure they have the future they deserve.’