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Regional disparities in social mobility continue

Our thoughts on the newly released State of the Nation 2024 report

Published:

  • Time to read: 3 minutes

Regional disparities in social mobility between the North and South of the UK highlighted by the Social Mobility Commission in its latest State of the Nation report.

Improving social mobility among young people in the North of England is more important now than ever before. This year’s State of the Nation report from the Social Mobility Commission (entitled State of the Nation 2024: Local to National, Mapping Opportunities for All) provides an in-depth analysis of social mobility across 203 local authorities in the UK. Each local authorities’ social mobility was ranked based on the Commission’s Social Mobility Index (SMI) which looks at mobility outcomes, intermediate outcomes and drivers of social mobility.

According to the report, social mobility is significantly influenced by geography, with Northern regions often falling behind other areas of the UK. In addition, the availability of high-quality education remains a key driver of social mobility. Unfortunately, the report highlights that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils is vast and remains largely unchanged from last year’s report.

Where people grow up can also affect mobility chances. This is why we introduced geographical breakdowns of mobility chances and drivers in last year’s report.

This year, we have increased the number of areas from 41 to 203. This increases both granularity and statistical power for investigating why areas differ in their mobility prospects."
State of the Nation Report 2024, Social Mobility Commission, page 94

A proud Northern charity, rooted in our communities

As a proud Northern charity, Tutor Trust is committed to bettering the life chances of all young people from Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Merseyside. We are rooted in our communities. Most of our staff team, and many of our tutors grew up in the regions we serve, so we understand the challenges outlined by the Social Mobility Commission.

In 2023/2024, we delivered tuition to over 6,000 young people across the North of England. Of the 6,016 young people we served, 84% were either:

  • eligible for Pupil Premium funding;
  • a cared for child;
  • in alternative provision; or
  • attending a school serving a high percentage of Pupil Premium students.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that our high-quality, impactful tuition is accessible to all, not just those fortunate enough to afford private tuition. This is why, with help from our generous funders, we have been able to reduce the costs of our tutoring programmes for 2024/2025.

The Social Mobility Commission’s analysis of 203 local authorities provides a unique opportunity to offer targeted support to the areas that need it the most. With Tutor Trust having positive evidence from two randomised controlled trials, we know that our tutoring works, and we are ready to help better the life chances of young people in the North of England.

We absolutely welcome this vital report from the Social Mobility Commission. It emphasises the need for targeted, local solutions to increase social mobility in certain regions of the UK. Our commitment to providing young people with access to quality tuition - regardless of their background or postcode - is only reaffirmed as a result of this analysis.”
Ed Marsh, CEO
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