We influence policy and campaign
We ensure that effective government policy supports the most persistently disadvantaged children in all parts of the country.
In recent years the Fair Education Alliance has been working with organisations across education, business and the third sector to put together a comprehensive plan to tackle inequality in education.
We have drawn on the expertise, evidence and experiences of our members to create a clear consensus on what a fairer education system needs to look like. This is an education system that:
gives all young people a rounded education, so that they develop skills, are looked after emotionally and physically, and can achieve academically no matter their personal circumstances;
engages parents and communities of all backgrounds, so that education does not stop at the school gates;
supports, incentivises and rewards teachers and leaders to enable all children to thrive – including incentives to work in more disadvantaged areas;
gives all young people the knowledge, skills and awareness to succeed in life after school, whether in further education, higher education or employment.
We use our collective voice to influence, campaign and create the education system we believe we will create a fairer and more equitable education system for all.
Working with Government
We work collaboratively with government bodies, including Ofsted, the Department for Education and the Social Mobility Commission, to support their strategy development and connect them with the work and expertise of our members. Our work with the Office for Students in 2018 influenced their recommendations to universities on the use of contextualised data in admissions.
Campaigning
We influence policy through targeted campaigns and media opportunities, drawing on the knowledge and expertise of our members to push for solutions we know work. Our 2017 campaign for schools to have designated careers leaders saw £4 million set aside for this in the Government's careers strategy, and our 2018 recommendations for a focus on teacher retention were adopted in the Department for Education's Recruitment and Retention Strategy. We also shared our campaign for a fairer education for all in December 2019 which you can see here.
Collective submission and representations to Government inquiries
We submit representations from the alliance to represent what our member organisations collectively believe would create an education system which meets the needs of the most disadvantaged young people.
This has included:
A joint response to the Government’s post-18 proposals with the Fair Access Coalition (May 2022):
We joined the Fair Access Coalition in responding to the Government’s post-18 proposals (themselves a response to the Augar Review). We urged:
That student number controls not be implemented, as these had substantial unintended consequences
That minimum eligibility requirements for student finance not be imposed, but if they are imposed, to come with significant support for increasing secondary attainment, exemptions based on mitigating circumstances, and exemptions for learners with alternative qualifications
That resource we directed to remove financial barriers to higher education for all students, not just the highest attaining through a National Scholarship Scheme
The Fair Access Coalition is comprised of our members The Access Project, Brightside, The Brilliant Club, Causeway Education, Impetus, Inter University upReach, and Villiers Park, as well as Push.
Comprehensive spending review representation (24 September 2020):
As an Alliance, we called for investment commitments in the Autumn budget of at least £1 billion per year for at least the next three years. Specifically we are calling for this investment:
To be targeted at improving outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds; and
To tackle long standing inequalities in education as part of the government’s levelling up agenda.
Our submission sets out why this investment is long needed and how this need has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Response to the Education Select Committee Inquiry on the Impact of COVID-19 on Education (2nd June 2020) :
This included calls from our wider campaign for a fairer education system as well as specific calls to action:
Ensuring that catch up support:
focuses on the most disadvantaged
is long term and co-led with the sector
includes support for wellbeing and social and emotional skills beyond just academic catch up
Response To The Oracy All-party Parliamentary Groups (Appg) Speak For Change Inquiry (December 2020)
In response to the Oracy All Party Parliamentary Group Speak for Change Inquiry, the Fair Education Alliance has brought together members and stakeholders from across the education sector to provide key recommendations to:
a) Help improve outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds; and
b) Tackle the long standing inequalities in education
In our submission, we have set out 4 key areas for change in Oracy provision which our 200 organisations collectively believe would create an education system which meets the needs of the most disadvantaged young people.
Letters to government
A joint open letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn 2023 budget statement (November 2023):
With 50 signatories, we called on the Chancellor to make immediate investments in education. Specifically, the letter calls for:
Continued investment in high-quality 1-1 and small-group tuition for the pupils who most need it.
Introduction of 30 hours of funded early years education for all three and four-year-old children, regardless of parental education or employment status.
Bolstering school funding so those funding streams meant to mitigate the impacts of poverty can better meet rising need, including by extending Free School Meal eligibility and uplifting and extending Pupil Premium funding from Early Years to post-16.
A joint letter to Government ahead of the Spring 2023 budget announcement with the Child Poverty in Education Action Group (March 2023):
We joined other members of the Child Poverty in Education Action Group, chaired by our member CPAG, in calling on Government to address rising child poverty in its Spring 2023 budget. Specifically, the letter calls for:
An immediate £20 per week increase to Child Benefit and
Free School Meals to provided to every school-age child who needs one
Calling for the Government to reconsider the watering-down of the National Tutoring Programme
We joined a letter from our members to the Department for Education, and wrote separately to the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, to challenge decisions by Randstad and the Department that would dilute the impact on the National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils.
Calling for the Governments recovery plans to commit the £13.5bn recommended by the Education Policy Institute
We wrote to the Prime Minister with our recommendations for increased investment in recovery plans for education to support the long-term change needed to achieve their agenda for levelling up.
Calling for long-term sustained funding for literacy resources, interventions & experiences in order to tackle disadvantage and create a fairer education system for all (17th March 2021):
We joined The Centre for Literacy in Primary, First Story and Driver Youth Trust in calling for a rich literacy curriculum and to ensure that schools have the freedom to build programmes of learning that are based on the core needs of their pupils, backed by a robust and diverse evidence base.
Calling for #BreakfastintheBudget and an urgent review into school food policy (18th February 2021):
We joined Magic Breakfast and 40 other organisations in urging the Government to conduct an urgent review into school food policy across the UK. This review would provide the Government with the opportunity to future-proof its policy on school food, and to carefully consider how best to support children and families living on low incomes in the aftermath of the pandemic. It would also demonstrate the Government’s commitment to tackling child food poverty and health inequalities in the longer term and be a significant step towards a comprehensive long-term plan.
Calling for increased mental health support in schools (3rd February 2021):
Alongside Place2Be and 34 other organisations, we called for long-term investment in supporting emotional wellbeing from an early age.
Calling for an urgent comprehensive review into Free School Meal policy across the UK (14th January 2021):
This review would provide the Government with the opportunity to future-proof its policy on school food, and to carefully consider how best to support low-income children and families in the aftermath of the pandemic. It would also demonstrate the Government’s commitment to tackling child food poverty in the longer term and be a significant step towards a comprehensive long-term plan.
Calling for an extension to the National Tutoring Service (27th November 2020):
Whilst we are delighted that the NTP is now up-and-running and that school pupils are benefitting from tuition, we believe that to have the desired long-term impact, it's duration and scope needs to be extended.
Currently the National Tutoring Programme has only been funded for 1 year, and support has not been extended to 16-19 year olds.
A one-year policy will not be enough to mitigate the exponential learning loss that children and young people have experienced - and that many continue to experience - due to the public health crisis.
In addition, 16-19-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds - who are the closest to a challenging labour market and most at risk of becoming Not in Education Employment or Training, are currently unable to benefit from the funding allocated.
Response to the unfairness of A-Level and GCSE results (14th August 2020):
Whilst we recognise that the circumstances surrounding this year’s A-levels made any ideal outcome impossible, Ofqual’s use of an algorithm to grade students was inherently unfair. We released a joint response to this alongside the Fair Access Coalition, emphasising the impact that this had on the most disadvantaged young people. Although the Government ultimately decided to revert to teacher assessments, the situation revealed how embedded inequalities are in our education system.
Careers support (30th June 2020):
We joined forces with the Careers Development Policy Group (including CRAC, Derby University, The CDI, Careers England, the Institute of Student Employers and AGCAS) to call for a Careers Guidance Guarantee, ensuring that all young people receive quality careers guidance and support for transitions. £2.5 million was announced to support careers hubs across the UK after our campaign.
The Opportunity Guarantee (14th June 2020):
We supported the call for the Opportunity Guarantee put forward by Impetus to support unemployed young people into work. The Opportunity Guarantee was announced by the Prime Minister in June, yet details of how this will work, or cost are still unknown.
Calling for a National Tutoring Service (11th June 2020):
As one of the key things that we called for in our Education Select Committee response, a sub-group of FEA members led a campaign calling for a National Tutoring Service. Working with Robert Halfon, we wrote an open letter to Gavin Williamson. Our letter was picked up on the 10th June in the lead article in the Daily Telegraph, and in the Yorkshire Post. As a result of this, alongside wider work by the Education community, £1 billion was allocated to education including a £350 million National Tutoring Programme and £650 million for schools to tailor catch-up support to their communities.
Calls for Ofqual to monitor awarded grades to ensure fairness (27th April 2020) :
As another key area highlighted in our Education Select Committee response, working with Impetus, we wrote a letter to Ofqual calling for measures to monitor impact of grade awarding mechanisms on the disadvantage gap. This was not specifically responded to however, the issue of fair grade awarding in the aftermath of COVID-19 continues to be a focus area.
Calls for addressing the digital divide (31st March 2020):
Alongside The Big Education Conversation and Teach First, we co-ordinated a written response to government (specifically directed at Gavin Williamson MP and Oliver Dowden MP).
