Fair opportunity for all

In Britain, the opportunity to succeed is still heavily shaped by your socio-economic background – the social and economic circumstances that you grew up in.

As the 2024 General Election fast approaches, the Sutton Trust’s Fair Opportunity for all is a roadmap for the next government, exploring how they can break the link between background and success – and make the most of the country’s talent.

Change is needed now more than ever. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and a long period of near stagnant economic growth – ensuring everyone has a fair chance to succeed, regardless of their background, has only become even more urgent.

Fair Opportunity for All makes the case for why the next government must put opportunities for the next generation at the centre of its agenda, and outlines a set of evidenced backed and costed recommendations that can equip the government to improve social mobility and widen opportunity – looking at the early years, through to schools, apprenticeships, higher education and into the workplace.

Early years

Equalise access to funded early education. Equal access to at least 20 hours of provision per week at three and four should be a priority, followed by two-year-olds.
<The Early Years Pupil Premium should be reformed, with an increase to the same level as primary schools, and its administration simplified, benefitting providers and parents.
The government should invest in the workforce by introducing specific funding to support the hiring of graduates through a ‘Leadership Quality Fund’, with the most disadvantaged areas prioritised for funding.
A national strategy for children’s centres and Family Hubs is needed to reverse over a decade of cuts to family support services, and the government should commit to rolling out at least 350 new facilities, with a focus on the most deprived areas.

Schools

Government should enact a national strategy to narrow the attainment gap (read our work on school admissions).
School funding should be re-balanced back towards schools serving the most disadvantaged communities through the National Funding Formula and increasing Pupil Premium funding.
Government should broaden the curriculum by building in a greater emphasis on building essential life skills, which can be just as important as academic learning for success in life.
Government should widen access to high performing schools by requiring schools to prioritise pupils eligible for Pupil Premium as an oversubscription criterion.

Apprenticeships

Steps should be taken to increase the supply of apprenticeships at all levels, particularly for disadvantaged young people. This should include funding to backfill apprentice time spent on off the job training, a re-introduction of apprenticeship incentives, and a review of support provided to apprenticeship employers, particularly SMEs.
At least 50% of employers’ levy spending should be ringfenced for under 25s, and the spending of levy money on access activities should be both permitted and promoted, including bursaries, outreach, recruitment and travel/relocation expenses for disadvantaged apprentices.
The care leaver bursary for young apprentices should be extended to young people eligible for free school meals.
Progression through apprenticeship levels should be given greater emphasis, with an ambition to provide seamless progression to higher level qualifications.
The requirement to pass GCSE English and maths to complete an apprenticeship should be abolished and replaced with a requirement to continue an alternative course of study focused on core English and maths skills.

Higher education

Government should redouble efforts on access, including a review of fair access to explore a sector-wide approach, a focus on socio-economic disadvantage, stronger regulatory expectations, and encouraging a clear and consistent approach to contextual offers.
Contextual admissions, including reduced grade contextual offers, should be used more extensively by selective universities to open up access to students from less privileged backgrounds. And universities should be encouraged and facilitated to use evidence-based access programmes.
Increase maintenance support to a level that reflects students’ actual costs, as well as re-introducing maintenance grants to low-income students, and extending eligibility to more families who need support.

Access to the workplace

Unpaid internships over 4 weeks should be banned outright, and employers should aim to pay all interns conducting substantive work. New legislation on this issue should be accompanied with better enforcement of current minimum wage legislation.
Government should enact the ‘Socio-economic Duty’ clause of the Equality Act 2010, obligating public bodies to give due regard to how they can reduce the impact of socio-economic disadvantage.
Government should set up a review to evaluate adding class as a protected characteristic.
Government should make reporting of socio-economic background (measured by parental occupational class) mandatory for businesses with over 250 employees. Large employers should also measure and publish their class pay gaps.

Related Research

Mobility Manifesto 2019

Mobility Manifesto 2017

Social mobility and opportunity