Sam Fletcher
@samfletcher.bsky.social
Director of Comms @rcn.org.uk. Social justice, inequalities, facts & stats. Mum of boys. Scouse in south. Views my own.
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
🗨️"Depending on the income level of their family, children had very different experiences of the pandemic."
@beckymontacute.bsky.social discussing how Covid lockdowns impacted children from disadvantaged backgrounds on @bbcradio4.bsky.social More or Less⬇️🎙️
@beckymontacute.bsky.social discussing how Covid lockdowns impacted children from disadvantaged backgrounds on @bbcradio4.bsky.social More or Less⬇️🎙️
March 17, 2025 at 11:47 AM
🗨️"Depending on the income level of their family, children had very different experiences of the pandemic."
@beckymontacute.bsky.social discussing how Covid lockdowns impacted children from disadvantaged backgrounds on @bbcradio4.bsky.social More or Less⬇️🎙️
@beckymontacute.bsky.social discussing how Covid lockdowns impacted children from disadvantaged backgrounds on @bbcradio4.bsky.social More or Less⬇️🎙️
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
🚨 NEW: The gap in access to internships between working-class and middle-class graduates has almost doubled since 2018.
Our new research reveals a growing gap in access to increasingly important internship routes, with many opportunities under and unpaid 🧵⬇️
Our new research reveals a growing gap in access to increasingly important internship routes, with many opportunities under and unpaid 🧵⬇️
January 23, 2025 at 7:40 AM
🚨 NEW: The gap in access to internships between working-class and middle-class graduates has almost doubled since 2018.
Our new research reveals a growing gap in access to increasingly important internship routes, with many opportunities under and unpaid 🧵⬇️
Our new research reveals a growing gap in access to increasingly important internship routes, with many opportunities under and unpaid 🧵⬇️
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
💬 "The Children's Wellbeing And Schools Bill has the potential to be a bold step forward towards the Government's aim to break down barriers to opportunity." @nickharrison73.bsky.social
Our comment on the measures to be outlined in the Government's new Bill ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
Our comment on the measures to be outlined in the Government's new Bill ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
December 17, 2024 at 10:28 AM
💬 "The Children's Wellbeing And Schools Bill has the potential to be a bold step forward towards the Government's aim to break down barriers to opportunity." @nickharrison73.bsky.social
Our comment on the measures to be outlined in the Government's new Bill ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
Our comment on the measures to be outlined in the Government's new Bill ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
🤝 'The key to unlocking the potential of disadvantaged young people lies in providing them with fair access to the best schools'
buff.ly
December 13, 2024 at 5:11 PM
🤝 'The key to unlocking the potential of disadvantaged young people lies in providing them with fair access to the best schools'
Many schools are socially segregated, driven by house price doom loop, Ofsted rating incentives & extra costs at some state schools. Change is possible & happening. Gov's plan to give LAs more control over admissions could be a game changer. @charleyo.bsky.social schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-have...
What if we could improve inclusion without delay
Sutton Trust research shows we can start closing the disadvantage gap - and Brighton and Hove shows us how
schoolsweek.co.uk
December 13, 2024 at 7:17 PM
Many schools are socially segregated, driven by house price doom loop, Ofsted rating incentives & extra costs at some state schools. Change is possible & happening. Gov's plan to give LAs more control over admissions could be a game changer. @charleyo.bsky.social schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-have...
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
Any (Greater) Manchester-based academics keen to deliver one-off sociology-adjacent enrichment to v nice sixth-formers in Rochdale on Wed afternoons Jan - April?
Broadly on race, class, inequality w/ focus on issues relevant to young people... can pay in coffee + travel
@uomsociology.bsky.social
Broadly on race, class, inequality w/ focus on issues relevant to young people... can pay in coffee + travel
@uomsociology.bsky.social
December 3, 2024 at 8:11 PM
Any (Greater) Manchester-based academics keen to deliver one-off sociology-adjacent enrichment to v nice sixth-formers in Rochdale on Wed afternoons Jan - April?
Broadly on race, class, inequality w/ focus on issues relevant to young people... can pay in coffee + travel
@uomsociology.bsky.social
Broadly on race, class, inequality w/ focus on issues relevant to young people... can pay in coffee + travel
@uomsociology.bsky.social
Rising school absences and rising child poverty clearly interlinked. Hard for families to prioritise attendance when kids don't have uniform and equipment or even shoes, can't afford transport, are hungry etc etc. www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...
Centre for Young Lives report warns poverty and hardship are preventing some children from attending school amid big increases in persistent and severe absence among children receiving Free School Mea...
Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives think tank, is today (Tuesday December 3rd) publishing a new report, ‘Too Skint for School’, examining the link between poverty and school...
www.centreforyounglives.org.uk
December 3, 2024 at 6:32 PM
Rising school absences and rising child poverty clearly interlinked. Hard for families to prioritise attendance when kids don't have uniform and equipment or even shoes, can't afford transport, are hungry etc etc. www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
Our local authority dashboard is free to use and offers insights on health and #HealthInequalities for all local authorities in England.
With updated data on work, money and resources, housing and transport, explore how your local authority compares 👇
https://buff.ly/3Ozn4UX
With updated data on work, money and resources, housing and transport, explore how your local authority compares 👇
https://buff.ly/3Ozn4UX
December 2, 2024 at 5:15 PM
Our local authority dashboard is free to use and offers insights on health and #HealthInequalities for all local authorities in England.
With updated data on work, money and resources, housing and transport, explore how your local authority compares 👇
https://buff.ly/3Ozn4UX
With updated data on work, money and resources, housing and transport, explore how your local authority compares 👇
https://buff.ly/3Ozn4UX
Not all universities use contextual offers to take account of applicants' backgrounds and potential when offering places based on grade requirements - find out which ones do here:
🚨The UCAS deadline is approaching!
Many top unis provide contextual offers, which consider your background. This can reduce grade requirements for students from less advantaged backgrounds.
Find out which top unis do this with our Contextual Offers Tool ⤵️ www.suttontrust.com/2024-context...
Many top unis provide contextual offers, which consider your background. This can reduce grade requirements for students from less advantaged backgrounds.
Find out which top unis do this with our Contextual Offers Tool ⤵️ www.suttontrust.com/2024-context...
2024 Contextual Offers Tool for UK Universities - The Sutton Trust
www.suttontrust.com
November 27, 2024 at 5:42 PM
Not all universities use contextual offers to take account of applicants' backgrounds and potential when offering places based on grade requirements - find out which ones do here:
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
This is incredible. Asked about the fact that private school kids get extra exam time at a rate 16% higher than state schools, Therese Coffey's response is:
"It's not gaming the system. There's an opportunity there... You don't ask, you don't get."
I had to watch this several times, agog. ~AA
"It's not gaming the system. There's an opportunity there... You don't ask, you don't get."
I had to watch this several times, agog. ~AA
November 27, 2024 at 12:06 AM
This is incredible. Asked about the fact that private school kids get extra exam time at a rate 16% higher than state schools, Therese Coffey's response is:
"It's not gaming the system. There's an opportunity there... You don't ask, you don't get."
I had to watch this several times, agog. ~AA
"It's not gaming the system. There's an opportunity there... You don't ask, you don't get."
I had to watch this several times, agog. ~AA
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
New article with @mvaldes1989.bsky.social just out in Sociology of Education
We show that high SES parent’s expectations that their children complete university are sticky, ie. not affected if children’s performance at school is low.
1/2
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We show that high SES parent’s expectations that their children complete university are sticky, ie. not affected if children’s performance at school is low.
1/2
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
November 27, 2024 at 6:48 AM
New article with @mvaldes1989.bsky.social just out in Sociology of Education
We show that high SES parent’s expectations that their children complete university are sticky, ie. not affected if children’s performance at school is low.
1/2
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We show that high SES parent’s expectations that their children complete university are sticky, ie. not affected if children’s performance at school is low.
1/2
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
For the first time we have a cabinet that's broadly representative of the public in terms of class and edu background, and the 2024 Commons is more socio-economically diverse than any parliament recorded since 1979. Are we seeing this reflected in policy so far? www.suttontrust.com/our-research...
November 25, 2024 at 5:03 PM
For the first time we have a cabinet that's broadly representative of the public in terms of class and edu background, and the 2024 Commons is more socio-economically diverse than any parliament recorded since 1979. Are we seeing this reflected in policy so far? www.suttontrust.com/our-research...
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
New Lancet paper 'The cost of not investing in the first 1000 days'.
Cites our Cochrane review on preschool-based feeding programmes in socio-economically deprived settings.
FEED STARVING CHILDREN in a timely way. Later (when they're older) may be too late.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... 🧪
Cites our Cochrane review on preschool-based feeding programmes in socio-economically deprived settings.
FEED STARVING CHILDREN in a timely way. Later (when they're older) may be too late.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... 🧪
The cost of not investing in the next 1000 days: implications for policy and practice
Building on the evidence from the first paper in this Series highlighting the fundamental
importance of healthy and nurturing environments for children's growth and development
in the next 1000 days (...
www.thelancet.com
November 22, 2024 at 8:34 AM
New Lancet paper 'The cost of not investing in the first 1000 days'.
Cites our Cochrane review on preschool-based feeding programmes in socio-economically deprived settings.
FEED STARVING CHILDREN in a timely way. Later (when they're older) may be too late.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... 🧪
Cites our Cochrane review on preschool-based feeding programmes in socio-economically deprived settings.
FEED STARVING CHILDREN in a timely way. Later (when they're older) may be too late.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... 🧪
Meanwhile low income students in England graduate with highest debt and skip meals to get by. Many are missing lectures and working full time to cover rent.
Nearly half a dozen institutions of higher education announced plans this week to make tuition free for undergraduates whose families make below a certain income threshold, starting in fall 2025.
University of Texas, MIT and others announce free tuition for some undergraduates
Nearly half a dozen institutions of higher education announced plans this week to make tuition free for undergraduates whose families make below a certain income threshold, starting in fall 2025.
www.npr.org
November 22, 2024 at 9:42 PM
Meanwhile low income students in England graduate with highest debt and skip meals to get by. Many are missing lectures and working full time to cover rent.
Lots of talk about new @ofstednews.bsky.social report cards and inclusivity measures. If you want to see how schools in your area are doing on socio-economic inclusion, check our our @suttontrust.bsky.social school admissions dashboard. www.suttontrust.com/school-admis.... Rabbit hole warning!!
School admissions dashboard: How does your school compare? - The Sutton Trust
www.suttontrust.com
November 22, 2024 at 3:33 PM
Lots of talk about new @ofstednews.bsky.social report cards and inclusivity measures. If you want to see how schools in your area are doing on socio-economic inclusion, check our our @suttontrust.bsky.social school admissions dashboard. www.suttontrust.com/school-admis.... Rabbit hole warning!!
🚨 Calling all researchers 🚨
We're commissioning an exciting new research project on the role of higher education in social mobility internationally, with a focus on policy learnings for the UK and the US.
Express your interest by 9th December ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
We're commissioning an exciting new research project on the role of higher education in social mobility internationally, with a focus on policy learnings for the UK and the US.
Express your interest by 9th December ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
November 21, 2024 at 6:07 PM
I've noticed a LOT of the charity and think tank people I follow are cat parents like me. So this is Marcel, aged 16. We've been living together much more harmoniously since he had to have most of his teeth removed. He thinks he's still biting me but I'm interpreting it as kisses. #catsofbluesky
November 20, 2024 at 9:43 PM
I've noticed a LOT of the charity and think tank people I follow are cat parents like me. So this is Marcel, aged 16. We've been living together much more harmoniously since he had to have most of his teeth removed. He thinks he's still biting me but I'm interpreting it as kisses. #catsofbluesky
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
Worrying new data from @trusselluk.bsky.social.
Hungry children cannot learn effectively.
One way to take the impact of poverty out of the classroom is by widening Free School Meal eligibility to cover all families in receipt of Universal Credit.
www.trussell.org.uk/news-and-res...
Hungry children cannot learn effectively.
One way to take the impact of poverty out of the classroom is by widening Free School Meal eligibility to cover all families in receipt of Universal Credit.
www.trussell.org.uk/news-and-res...
More than 1.42 million emergency food parcels distributed in past six months | Trussell
Food banks in our community gave out just over 1,428,000 emergency food parcels across the UK between April and September this year.
www.trussell.org.uk
November 20, 2024 at 12:46 PM
Worrying new data from @trusselluk.bsky.social.
Hungry children cannot learn effectively.
One way to take the impact of poverty out of the classroom is by widening Free School Meal eligibility to cover all families in receipt of Universal Credit.
www.trussell.org.uk/news-and-res...
Hungry children cannot learn effectively.
One way to take the impact of poverty out of the classroom is by widening Free School Meal eligibility to cover all families in receipt of Universal Credit.
www.trussell.org.uk/news-and-res...
There's lots that needs fixing with England's education policy, much of which gov have the will to do, but not *yet* the cash. But at least thankful we're not facing the absolute bin fire of Trump's emerging education agenda.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
What are Donald Trump’s plans to overhaul US colleges and universities?
Republican president-elect says he wants to dismantle the US education department and fire ‘radical left accreditors’
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2024 at 8:03 PM
There's lots that needs fixing with England's education policy, much of which gov have the will to do, but not *yet* the cash. But at least thankful we're not facing the absolute bin fire of Trump's emerging education agenda.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
Inflation out today at 2.3% for October, slightly ahead of the Bank of England's recent projection.
But look which month is used to increase social security payments next April to compensate families for rising prices...
But look which month is used to increase social security payments next April to compensate families for rising prices...
November 20, 2024 at 8:15 AM
Inflation out today at 2.3% for October, slightly ahead of the Bank of England's recent projection.
But look which month is used to increase social security payments next April to compensate families for rising prices...
But look which month is used to increase social security payments next April to compensate families for rising prices...
👇👇👇👀
🚨 Free webinar on inequalities in creative industries 🚨
Our upcoming webinar will focus on class inequalities in access to careers in the creative industries, as well as in access to creative degrees.
Join our expert panelists on 4th December ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/a-class-act-...
Our upcoming webinar will focus on class inequalities in access to careers in the creative industries, as well as in access to creative degrees.
Join our expert panelists on 4th December ⤵️
www.suttontrust.com/a-class-act-...
November 19, 2024 at 7:52 PM
👇👇👇👀
Likely true that more progress would have been made if schools were measured on outcomes for poorer pupils. But major drivers of the attainment gap have been insufficient school funding, inadequate covid recovery, unfair admissions, rising absence and, of course, huge increases in child poverty.
Ofsted is "culpable" for disadvantaged pupils falling further behind their peers, the body's former head has told @matildamartin.bsky.social
Sir Michael Wilshaw said Ofsted has focused too much on curriculums and not enough on "how poor children are doing"
www.politicshome.com/news/article...
Sir Michael Wilshaw said Ofsted has focused too much on curriculums and not enough on "how poor children are doing"
www.politicshome.com/news/article...
Ofsted 'Culpable' For Poor Children Falling Further Behind, Says Body's Former Head
Ofsted is 'at fault and culpable' for poor pupils falling further behind their peers, the former chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has told Polit...
www.politicshome.com
November 19, 2024 at 7:21 PM
Likely true that more progress would have been made if schools were measured on outcomes for poorer pupils. But major drivers of the attainment gap have been insufficient school funding, inadequate covid recovery, unfair admissions, rising absence and, of course, huge increases in child poverty.
It is good, but would be even better if this funding was targeted to primary and secondary pupils who need it. Hearing from teachers stories of older kids not eligible for FSM going in with an empty lunchbox pretending they're eating to avoid the shame, others avoiding the canteen at lunchtime.
November 19, 2024 at 10:08 AM
It is good, but would be even better if this funding was targeted to primary and secondary pupils who need it. Hearing from teachers stories of older kids not eligible for FSM going in with an empty lunchbox pretending they're eating to avoid the shame, others avoiding the canteen at lunchtime.
Reposted by Sam Fletcher
That we seem to think we can't afford to do something about this, but then seem to believe we can afford dealing with all the consequences of this, tells you a lot about how we think about public finances.
Shocking news. 36% of UK children are living in poverty according to the latest Social Metrics Commission research (I am one of the Commissioners)
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
November 19, 2024 at 7:52 AM
That we seem to think we can't afford to do something about this, but then seem to believe we can afford dealing with all the consequences of this, tells you a lot about how we think about public finances.
1 in 3 children in poverty - an extra 260k 'on the breadline' since Covid. Children in poverty feel it in every aspect of life. Constant hunger, shame about living conditions and clothes, worry about bills. This is no way to set up the next generation for success. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
More than one in three children in poverty as UK deprivation hits record high
Exclusive: Study finds almost quarter of UK population living in poverty, reaching the highest level this century
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2024 at 6:04 PM
1 in 3 children in poverty - an extra 260k 'on the breadline' since Covid. Children in poverty feel it in every aspect of life. Constant hunger, shame about living conditions and clothes, worry about bills. This is no way to set up the next generation for success. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...