Educational Outcomes: Disadvantaged Boys and Young Men
Alex Easton Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Alistair Strathern
The hon. Member is right to draw attention to the particular challenge faced by disadvantaged young men. While there has rightly been a lot of focus on challenges holding back all boys and men across education—the Education Committee was due to hold an inquiry into that during the previous Parliament—the compounding impacts of socioeconomic inequality and gender are often less explored.
Alex Easton (North Down) (Ind)
On average, disadvantaged boys are already behind in vocabulary and communication by the time they start school. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is an urgent need for a targeted, UK-wide speech, language and communication strategy focused on disadvantaged boys, not just in our constituencies but right across the UK?
Alistair Strathern
The hon. Member is spot on in drawing attention to the fact that a lot of these problems have early roots, and that our interventions must be as focused as the challenges that we are seeking to address.
Boys’ Impact found that when looking at early years settings, only 30% of boys on average seem to be making a good level of progress, compared with 88% of girls who are not eligible for free school meals. When it came to GCSEs and getting grades 5 to 9 in English and maths, Boys’ Impact found that men, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds and eligible for free school meals, were achieving half the level of those who were not eligible for free school meals.