Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the role of school education in improving social mobility; and if she will make a statement.

Tackling social mobility is the department’s priority. There is a substantial body of evidence showing a strong association between family income and a child’s educational attainment. Qualifications predict economic and social outcomes later in life.

We will drive social mobility through the whole education system. There are 1.9 million more pupils in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. In December 2016, 91% of schools were rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ for their leadership and management in their most recent Ofsted inspection.

Teachers are one of the key drivers of social mobility in our country. Over a single school year, a strong teacher can help disadvantaged young people gain as much as an extra years’ worth of learning, compared to those taught by a weaker one.

We have more teachers in our schools than ever before and the number of teachers has kept pace with changing numbers of pupils.