“This study highlights the fact that it is vital to do more to close skills gaps which emerge early in life to ensure that these children and the wider economy both thrive in the future. Schools and colleges already do a lot of work to try to make that happen, but they are operating within very constrained financial circumstances and severe staffing shortages.
“One way that the government could address skills gaps and fulfil its mission to break down barriers to opportunity, would be to extend the pupil premium to include 16–19-year-olds, and to target a higher level of pupil premium to support children and young people in persistent poverty.
“We also hope the ongoing curriculum and assessment review will better balance the previous government’s excessive focus on a small number of academic subjects with more room for vocational, digital and creative subjects – which nurture many of the skills sought by employers.”