Report on social mobility published

The Policy Centre Jersey has published a comprehensive report Social mobility in Jersey. This report brings together detailed research on two areas – the impact of high housing costs on social mobility and the provision of university education on-Island – and extracts from relevant reports on other areas relevant to social mobility – the school system, early years provision and action that employers can take.

The work that has been done is sufficient to identify that there are significant barriers to social mobility in Jersey and the areas where action can be taken to improve social mobility.

The report’s summary is summarised below –

• Social mobility refers to change in a person's socio-economic situation, either in relation to their parents or throughout their lifetime, and is linked to equality of opportunity.
• Long-term inequality is exacerbated during childhood.
• The five main drivers of social mobility in the UK are conditions of childhood, educational opportunities and quality of schooling, work opportunities for young people, the value of people’s social connections and research and development expenditure.
• The operation of the housing market has worsened social mobility in Jersey.
• The benefits and tax system improves income inequality; housing costs almost remove this improvement. As a result of housing costs income inequality has grown over the last 12 years.
• Students from lower income households are less able to access higher education than their counterparts in the UK.
• The prevailing approach to education in Jersey is a structural barrier to achieving inclusive education.
• There is a huge disparity between the primary schools in urban areas and those in rural areas in respect of students who do not have English as a first language, with special education needs and eligible for the Jersey premium.
• Children’s early years experiences shape their development, educational attainment and life chances.
• People from disadvantaged backgrounds are further disadvantaged in the employment market.
• Employers can promote social mobility by measuring socio-economic diversity into their workforce, building a talent pipeline, improving recruitment practices, keeping and nurturing talent and looking outside of their workplace.

If there is a wish to increase social mobility in Jersey the following measures would be appropriate for the Government to take –

• Commission a study on the extent of and trends in social mobility in Jersey drawing on existing statistical data and comparisons with the UK and other jurisdictions so as to provide the data to inform policy decisions.
• Take action to reduce housing costs, particularly for those young people who do not have access to a “Bank of Mum and Dad”.
• Increase the attractiveness of and demand for higher education on-Island to address the low level of aspiration among state school students.
• Begin the process of reforming the secondary school system to reduce the extent of selection.
• Collect and publish data on attainment levels by Jersey schools so as to identify where improvements are needed.
• Prioritise policies that seek to increase early childhood education and care participation amongst economically disadvantaged groups.
• Raise awareness and incentivise Jersey employers to improve and disclose their socioeconomic diversity.

However, addressing social mobility is not a matter for the Government alone. The Social Mobility Foundation views the workplace as important as the classroom in creating social mobility. Employers have a major to play through their recruitment, retention and development policies and can draw on readily available toolkits to help them.

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