8/12/2019 BBC News - Poor White Pupils 'Need Best Teachers and
Long Days'
2/2
6/18/2014 BBC News - Poor white pupils 'need best teachers and
long days'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-27886925?print=true 2/2
Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw highlighted the importance of
supportive parents, irrespective of income.
"Poverty of expectation bears harder on educational achievement
than material poverty, hard though that can be. And these
expectations
start at home."
Representatives of Leicester City Council told MPs that there
were parts of the city where "white working class culture is
characterised
by low aspirations and negative attitudes towards
education".
But the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which has researched
poverty, rejected the idea of low parental aspirations, but instead
blamed alack of self-belief among white working-class families.
They wanted their children to be high achievers, but had a much
lower expectation than middle-class families that they would be
able to
"achieve their goals".
Lost 'bedrock'
Prof Alison Wolf, from King's College London, highlighted the
link between concentrations of underachievement in school and
where
traditional industrial jobs had disappeared.
"A lot of the careers and jobs that were the bedrock of white
working-class family life for many decades and generations have
vanished
and have not been well replaced," she said.
Committee chairman Graham Stuart said working-class parents
might not realise how much the labour market had changed - and
that
their children would face a tough future if they failed to
achieve in school.
"They might have hated school, left early - but still did well
for themselves and they mistakenly assume their children can do the
same,"
he said.
The National Union of Teachers said that underachievement was
linked to poverty,
"Children from disadvantaged backgrounds will not be as school
ready as others for the simple reason if you have not had a meal in
the
evening, slept in your own bed or had breakfast, that will
impact on your ability to learn," said general secretary Christine
Blower.
A Department for Education spokesman said the pupil premium was
providing 2.5bn per year to support disadvantaged pupils and
that
schemes such as Teach First were recruiting good teachers for
tough areas.
"The over-riding objective of our reforms is to improve the
attainment of the poorest children in society - and we are already
seeing real
improvements," he said.
"We have made it easier for all schools, not just academies and
free schools, to extend the length of the school day."
More Education & Family stories
New Technical Awards for teenagers
[/news/education-27892200]
New practical courses in subjects such as electronics and
textiles will be available next year as part of a shake-up of
vocational education in England.
Fried food limit in school meals
[/news/education-27869411]
Fine 'bad parents', says Ofsted boss
[/news/education-27884057]
BBC 2014The BBC is not res ponsible for the content
of external sites. Read more.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/help/web/links/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-27884057http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-27869411http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-27892200http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education/
