An independent, cross-party group of politicians and education experts is examining the causes and effects of inequality in education at primary and secondary levels in England and Wales.

The Social Market Foundation’s Commission on Inequality in Education believes that inequalities are a barrier to social mobility and result in unfairness.  The commission seeks to close the gap between the performance of disadvantaged children and their better-off classmates.

The commission has published new research looking at inequalities in today’s education system and compares these to cohorts born in the 1950s and 1970s.

The research reveals marked regional disparities in educational outcomes and that these inequalities have remained stubborn and in some cases worsened over the last three decades.  

At the launch of the commission, its Chair, Nick Clegg, called for fresh ideas about how to attract more high-quality teachers into struggling schools.