Our work at IntoUniversity is based upon sound public research into both the need for our work and the effectiveness of our approach.
Early Intervention
Early intervention is a key driver of social mobility. But this intervention needs to be intensive, and long-term.
Simon Hughes MP's report on Access to Education (July 2011)
'It is never too early for people to start thinking about future careers and educational opportunities. Children in their last years of primary school can be inspired, and can form their first clear impressions of the world of work and further study.'
GrahamAllen's government report on Early Intervention: The Next Steps (Jan 2011)
The Foundation Years website
A website established to act as a reference point for parents, families and practioners, focusing on early years development.
Click here to read articles on Early Intervention
The Achievement Gap
Young people from poorer backgrounds do much less well than those from better-off homes.
Leon Feinstein’s study of children’s pre-school achievement
‘It is striking that, even measured at 22 months, children in the bottom quartile of this development index are significantly less likely to get any qualifications than those in the top quartile. Moreover, at 42 months more than three times as many of those in the top quartile as those in the bottom quartile go on to get ‘A’ level qualifications or above. Given the young age of the children tested, these are strong findings. They suggest that, even before children have entered school, substantial signals predicting future educational progress are contained in these standard tests of child development.’
UCL postcode analysis 2006
Considers GCSE results by ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ postcode districts to show that the key factor in how well children do is not what type of school they attend but social class.
HEFCE POLAR Report 2005
Researchers from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) spent five years mapping out the proportion of school leavers going to university in every region, parliamentary constituency and ward in the UK between 1994 to 2000. ‘Young people from the most advantaged areas were up to six times more likely to go to university than those in the most disadvantaged areas. The disparity changed little over the period of the study.’ (The Guardian January 2005)
Widening Participation
Disadvantaged young people are much less likely to get a university place than their better-off peers, and are highly unlikely to get a place at a high-status university.
House of Commons Widening Participation Report 2010
‘To be more effective, universities need to target schools in disadvantaged areas to reach those most in need.’
IFS Report into Widening Participation 2010
‘This paper has shown that students from poorer backgrounds are much less likely to participate in tertiary education than students from richer backgrounds.’
Institutefor Employment Studies (‘Making the Right Choice:How Students Choose Universities and Colleges’, 1999.)
Research shows that many students’ decisions about further study had been largely formulated by Year 11. The study also showed that fewer than 1 in 10 young people identify school careers services, teachers or university staff as a source of information about H.E.
Click here to see summary report
Social Mobility
Sutton Trust: Social Mobility, 2005
‘Part of the reason for the decline in mobility has been the increasing relationship between family income and educational attainment between these cohorts. This was because additional opportunities to stay in education at both age 16 and age 18 disproportionately benefited those from better-off backgrounds.’
Unleashing Aspirations: Cabinet Office Report (2009)
On the current trajectory, tomorrow’s professionals will be drawn almost entirely from the better-off 30% of families in this country.
Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers: A Guide to Social Mobility, Cabinet Office Report (April 2011)
The Cost of Educational Failure
Report from The Centre for Social Justice, 2006
‘This Report highlights the failure of our education system to ensure all children have equality of opportunity.’
Report from The Prince’s Trust / LSE
‘Social exclusion comes with a big price tag – not only for the individual young people who are affected but for their communities and the economy as well. And the costs go beyond the financial: there are also hard-to-quantify costs such as the loss of potential and the long-term, emotional toll of unfulfilled ambitions.’
Get in touch
For further information, please contact our Director of Communications, Training and Planning.
Dr Hugh Rayment-Pickard
hugh@intouniversity.org
020 7243 0242